


The Best of Me

by Sourwolf_sterek32



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Child Abuse, Falling In Love, Family Issues, Good Friend Shane Walsh, Homophobia, Hurt Daryl, Hurt Rick, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, Physical Abuse, Protective Daryl Dixon, Protective Rick Grimes, Rickyl, Slow-ish burn, Strangers to Lovers, The Walking Dead AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-09-02 03:02:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 49,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20268937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sourwolf_sterek32/pseuds/Sourwolf_sterek32
Summary: Rick Grimes and Daryl Dixon are from opposite ends of the track, but that didn't stop the teenagers from falling in love. However, good things never last and they are forced apart.Now 20 years later, they both get called back to their hometown for a funeral and they're faced with each other again.Is it too late or can true love really find a way?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer-  
This fic is heavily inspired by the book/movie The Best of Me.  
Some quotes are also taken from both, so credit to the rightful owners. 
> 
> Anyway, I have most of this fic already written, so hopefully the gap between chapters won't be long and I hope you all enjoy it.

Daryl Dixon never thought his life was worth much, but when he survived the explosion on the logging site he began to wonder if there was some purpose to his life. That maybe he was on a destined path, even if he couldn't see it yet.

He'd been working at the Alexandria Logging Site for 14 years and thought he had seen it all, from forest fires to loaded trucks losing control and crashing on the muddy terrain. He'd seen more broken bones than he could count, along with the everyday cuts and bruises from cutting down trees, but the explosion was something different. The day started out normal and he had been sawing away at various wooden logs that had already been cut down by the river bed. Making sure they were the correct sizes to fit into the back of the semi-truck. Aaron Raleigh and few others were nearby using the crane to lift the freshly cut logs into piles and that's when it all went to hell.

The crane tipped, crashing into the log pile, the iron droppers set up to keep the logs in place pierced through the fuel tank sending fuel spraying out the crane. Daryl barely had a second to process everything before fire began to spark from the engine of the crane. All the workers began to run away, knowing that fire and leaking fuel wasn't a good combination and Daryl was about at join them before he spotted a bunch of workers including, Aaron, stuck underneath one of the logs with his arm pinned.

He grabbed the axe sticking out a wooden stump beside him and rushed over to Aaron under the log. He didn't really know the younger man that well, but knew he had a husband and daughter waiting for him at home and like hell Daryl was going to leave him.

He wasn't sure how he did it, but he managed to use the axe as some kind of leaver and lifted the log just enough for Aaron to get his arm free. He quickly grabbed the mans good arm, slinging it over his shoulders as he practically dragged the man away from the ticking time bomb of a crane. One of the other workers began to help him and Daryl let the other man take Aaron before he ran back towards the other people stuck under the logs and that's when the explosion happened.

The flames finally reached the leaking fuel causing the entire crane to erupt. The force of the explosion launching him into the air, metal debris flying up and hitting him in the face in the process, as he closed his eyes feeling something slice the skin over his left eye.

The force of the explosion sending him into the river, the quick current sending him down stream towards the waterfall.

He had vague memories of falling from the edge of the waterfall. A fall that he should have killed him in an instant, but the next thing he knew he was floating in the water and for a moment he wasn't entirely sure if he was dead or alive as he closed his eyes and that's when he saw him. Rick Grimes.

He hadn't seen Rick Grimes for over 20 years, but for some reason his mind began to hallucinate the man he fell in love with all those years ago.

Rick was walking towards him through the garden bed of tulips, wearing his usual light brown button-down shirt that was tucked into his jeans with his signature smile plastered on his face. But, Daryl knew it wasn't real. Rick wasn't 18 anymore. He'd look different now, taller, more muscular maybe and probably had some kind of scruff or beard instead of his clean shaven jawline. Although, Daryl hadn't seen him since they were teenagers, so maybe Rick still looked exactly the same, he wouldn't know.

"Time to wake up, Daryl. It's not your time yet." Rick stated, reaching a hand out towards him, but before Daryl could grab his hand, Rick disappeared as he slowly opened his eyes to find himself lying on a hospital bed.

"Glad to see you awake, Mr Dixon. My name is Denise Cloyd, I'm your nurse." A woman's voice suddenly spoke up causing Daryl to jump in surprise, spotting a blonde woman with glasses standing beside his hospital bed.

"The hell am I?" He questioned, hating how rough his voice sounded as he sat up and glanced around the room.

He could feel the pull of stitches above and below his left eye and his entire body was a little stiff and sore, but other than that he seemed to be fine. But he was in the water last he could remember, how'd he get to the hospital?

"You're at the UNC hospital in North Carolina." Denise answered with a gentle smile and Daryl nodded, trying to process everything that had happened at the logging site and how someone even found him at the bottom of the waterfall to begin with was beyond him.

"When can I leave?" He asked a few seconds later, looking back at the nurse who was now holding a clipboard.

"If your vitals stay stable, you can go home tonight. You're gonna have a nasty scar above and below your left eye, but the eye itself is completely unharmed. It's incredible. You were in the water for almost four hours, no evidence of hypothermia. The fall alone should have killed you. It's a miracle that you're alive, Mr Dixon. There's just no other word for it." Denise said in disbelief as she stared at him and Daryl nodded, slowly taking in the news. He should be dead, how'd he survive? Why'd he survive?

"Is there anyone we can call to come get you?" Denise asked, but Daryl shook his head.

"Nah, I'm good."

-

That night he arrived home to his small trailer on the outskirts of the woods. His boss Deanna had visited him before he was released and said the company had shut down after the accident. Something about the logging site being too dangerous after what just happened, but Daryl didn't ask any questions. She offered him a settlement, so he wouldn't file a lawsuit against them and he took it and she wrote the check then and there.

He cashed the check on the way home, posting most of the money to a farm in southern Georgia, leaving himself with just enough for fuel and other expenses. He didn't need much and he didn't want much either. He hunted his own meat and didn't venture into town much unless he needed something. He spent most his free time in the woods when he wasn't working. The woods was more of a home than his trailer was, his trailer was just a place where he ate, slept and showered.

For the first month after the accident he just tinkered around the trailer and hunted in the woods, not really sure what else to do with himself since he didn't have a job anymore.

He went for jogs, lifted weights and worked on his old Triumph that he had been trying to get up and running for the past two years. It was his brothers old motorcycle that he'd managed to track down and buy from a man in Dallas. But, the man had crashed the bike only weeks earlier and completely wrecked it.

Daryl went for long drives in his truck and fishing in the small creek a few miles from his trailer. He read old mechanic and car books every night and wrote the occasional letter to Dale Horvath, but that was it. He never went to the local bar or movies, he never went to a friend's house to watch the football or to have a beer. Hell, he hadn't been on a date since he was teenager.

To most, his life seemed boring, but he liked it that way. It was peaceful and far from what his life used to be when he was a kid, growing up in a shitty little town with an even shittier family. He liked the quiet life.

He tried not think about the past, but then he received a phone call one afternoon that brought all those memories flooding back.

For the first time in over 20 years he was going back home and the thought of stepping foot in that town made him uneasy. But, Dale had been like a father to him, he'd been a better father than what his old man ever was and Daryl would do anything for the man who turned his life around.

-

Rick Grimes didn't think much of his phone ringing from the kitchen bench inside as he watched his son, Carl, and his friends mess around by the pool.

It was Carl's 17th birthday and whoever was calling him could wait. It was his son's birthday and he was going to take as many photos as he could.

He knew Carl wasn't a fan of how many photos he would take of the family with his camera. But after losing his baby daughter at just 2-years-old due to cancer, and only having a handful of photos to remember her by, Rick made an effort to take more photos so he could always keep the memories with him.

"Hey, have you thought about what you want to study in collage yet?" Lori's mother asked grabbing Carl's arm gently as he walked past. Carl chuckled and shook his head, making his way towards the veranda were Rick was standing while Lori sat on the porch chair beside her friend, Carol.

"He's thinking about finance." Lori spoke up, looking over at her mother causing Rick to roll his eyes. Lori had been pushing Carl to do something around finance because she thought it would be his best option, but Rick just kept telling him to pick whatever he wanted to do.

"What?" Lori questioned, glancing over her shoulder towards him and Rick must have had a disapproving look on his face as he looked over at his wife and smiled, although he was pretty sure she knew it was fake.

"I didn't say anything." Rick replied.

"Look, it's tough out there and it's getting tougher. Finance makes the most sense." Lori tried to reason as Carl walked past her towards the cooler on the bench and grabbed a can of sprite.

"Whoa, whoa, top me up." She quickly instructed, holding her now empty glass of wine up towards Carl before he could walk away and Rick watched as his son grabbed the half empty bottle of Shiraz and filled up his mothers glass.

"He doesn't have to do finance. He can do whatever major he likes and if he doesn't like it, then he can simply swap." Rick responded, trying to keep his tone gentle, not wanting to spark another argument with Lori while the whole family and Carls friends were here.

"All I said was that he was thinking about it." Lori said defensively, but before Rick could respond Carl walked past him, patting his shoulder as he began making his way back to the pool with his friends.

"You know, mom, honestly, all I'm thinking about is the beach and what the girls on the beach will or will not be wearing this summer." Carl admitted causing Rick to chuckle as Lori raised her eyebrows at him. But Carl didn't seem to care as he cracked open his sprite and took a drink before Sophia and Henry called out to him from in the pool. Carl quickly put his drink on the table and ran over to the pool, jumping in with his friends.

Rick smiled watching Carl splash his friends before his phone began to start ringing again from inside and he sighed. Could this person not take a hint that he was busy? It was probably just one of his work colleagues from the office asking to swap shifts with him or something. But this was the third time the person had called and he figured he should probably answer it in case it was Shane or someone who really needed to talk to him.

He began to make his way back inside, closing the glass sliding door behind him as he walked into the kitchen picking up his phone from the bench. He couldn't recognise the phone number flashing on the screen and he answered the call.

"Rick Grimes speaking." He said, holding the phone to his ear as he began to get the paper plates and plastic spoons out the cupboard ready for Carl's birthday cake.

"Rick, my name is Andrea Harrison and I'm the estate attorney for Dale Horvath. I'm afraid I have some bad news. Mr. Horvath died in his sleep last night. He was 92." The woman- Andrea – informed and Rick had to grab hold of the bench in front of him to steady himself as he took in the news. He could feel tears starting to rise in his eyes as he stared at the wall opposite him in complete shock.

-

That night after the guests had left and the yard had been cleaned off all the rubbish, Rick told Lori and Carl that an old family friend had passed away, and that he was going back to his hometown on the weekend for the funeral.

Carl had been really understanding and gave him a hug, asking if he needed him to go with him for support and Rick appreciated the offer, but kindly declined. Lori, however, was not as supportive.

"Look I'm sorry about your friend, I really am. But, we've got stuff going on here. I got to be at Jacqui's on Saturday for her Tupperware party thing. Monday night we've got the dinner with the girl from my work and her husband-" Lori began to say, walking into the bedroom where Rick was currently packing a suitcase ready to leave in the morning.

"Next time someone I know dies, I'll call your secretary first." Rick snapped, walking off towards the bathroom to grab his things. He glanced over his shoulder to Lori who was still standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. "I'm sorry." He apologised, over his shoulder.

"Yeah." Lori sighed and walked out the room.

Their marriage never used to like this, it used to be happy and loving, but it hasn't been like that for years. They argued more often than not, but it was never violent, neither of them were like that. But it occasionally got loud and they'd shout at each other before one of them walked off allowing them both to cool down.

Losing Judith had changed them. That's when their marriage had started to come apart and over the years it had just started to get worse.

Neither of them wanted a divorce and break up the family, they couldn't do that to Carl after everything the boy had been through. Although, it couldn't be much worse than having to witness his parents arguing all the time. But, as strained as their marriage was, he still believed in his vows. He loved the woman Lori had been, and he loved the woman he knew she could be. But, as he fell asleep that night, his alarm set early for his drive back home, he couldn't help wondering how his life had come to this.

Rick began to think of Dale and how close the two of them had gotten over the years. It was with Dale that he shared his pain and sadness over Judith's death, because his wife refused to talk about it with him. It was with Dale that Rick could unleash his rage at Lori and he was the first and only person he ever told about his worries with his marriage and his worries for Carls future. But, he never spoke or bought up the topic of Daryl Dixon and Dale never spoke about him either because he knew Rick didn't want to.

Although, Rick frequently wondered despite how pointless it was, but he still wondered how different his life might have been if him and Daryl had stayed together. Daryl was the only person in the world that really understood him and he remembered just how deeply he loved him and how Daryl loved him back just as much.

In his own quiet way, Daryl made him feel like anything was possible. He wondered whether Daryl had found someone to make him feel that way again, but life for an ex-con was never easy.

He hoped Daryl wasn't back in jail or hooked on drugs or alcohol. For all he knew Daryl could be dead, but he figured if that was the case then Dale would've told him. He assumed Daryl still kept in touch with the older man, but again he couldn't be sure.

-

***** **20 Years Ago***

Daryl was sitting at one of the small tables with Glenn outside of Squeal's, the towns best and only café. It was their usual after school hangout, mainly because Maggie had afternoon shifts there. Although most of the popular jocks from school hung around the café too, but Daryl would rather put up with the stuck up teenagers from school then put up with his family. 

He leant back in his chair as Glenn ranted about some History assignment, but Daryl was more focused on Rick Grimes, who was sitting at the benches on the porch of the café, talking and laughing amongst his friends.

Daryl had seen Rick around school and in classes ever since they were kids. There was only one main school in town, so of course they had gone to the same school, but they had never spoken more than a word to each other.

Rick was the rich popular guy, whereas Daryl was the total opposite. The Grimes' were practically royalty in their town and everyone knew and respected them. Although, everyone knew about the Dixon's, they definitely did not respect them. Everyone tried to stay clear of the Dixon's knowing they were nothing but trouble, which was why Daryl always tried to keep a low profile.

He knew a guy like Rick Grimes was way out of his league. Hell, he was almost certain the guy was straight, although in this town it wasn't really an option to be gay. So, maybe Rick was in the closet like he was, but it wasn't like he'd act on his attraction to the guy even if he was gay too, because no way would Rick Grimes go from someone like him.

"Hey, are you even listening to me or you too busy eyeballing Rick?" Glenn suddenly questioned, snapping Daryl out of his thoughts realising he had been staring directly at the man. But to his relief Rick was too focused on whatever his best friend, Shane, was saying beside him.

Daryl looked over at Glenn who tried to look annoyed, but failed miserably when a grin slowly began to take over his face causing Daryl to roll his eyes. Glenn and his girlfriend, Maggie, were his only friends and the only people who knew he was gay.

For most of his schooling Daryl never really had any friends. Everyone was too ashamed and didn't want to be seen talking to a Dixon. But, him and Glenn got put together for lab partners a couple years ago and for whatever reason he befriended Daryl almost instantly and they had been best friends ever since.

Glenn and Maggie had started dating not long after and at first the farmers daughter was a bit cautious around him which was fair enough. He knew all the rumours that got whispered around town about the Dixon's, but Maggie quickly warmed to him, realising that he wasn't like the rest of his family and now he considered her one of his closest friends.

"Shut up." Daryl muttered, focusing back on Glenn who opened his mouth about to say something, but Daryl shook his head knowing exactly what his friend was thinking.

"Ain't gonna talk to him, so don't even bother." He stated and Glenn quickly shut his mouth and rolled his eyes.

"Well if what Shane was saying to Jim when I over heard them talking, Rick apparently has a crush on you." Glenn responded and now it was Daryl who rolled his eyes because like hell that was true. No way would Rick even be remotely interest him. He was one of the most popular guys at school, he could have whoever he wanted, so why would he want him?

"Foods here." Maggie's voice suddenly called and Daryl welcomed the distraction as he spotted Maggie walking over to their table with a large bowl of wedges and two cokes. She was smiling happily at them and seemed to be in good health, but Daryl had seen her earlier this morning at school and she looked a bit pale.

"Thanks, Maggie. How are you feeling?" He asked, watching as she placed the bowl on the table between the two of them along with the two drinks.

He knew she was about eight weeks pregnant. He had woken up to a phone call in the middle of the night from Glenn crying happily while freaking out and Daryl had to calm him down without waking his father sleeping in the room across the hall.

"She was throwing up a lot." Glenn informed and Daryl gave her a sympathetic looked because that would fucking suck, waking up every morning and feeling nauseas. But so far Maggie has taken the pregnancy in her stride and although she wasn't showing yet, it was only a matter of time before she did. But she didn't seem worried about being pregnant at school, hell, she wouldn't be the first one.

"But I'm not now, so that's good." She replied with a bright smile as she leant down to Glenn and gave him a kiss causing Daryl to smile softly as he took a drink of his coke. "I'll catch you guys in 20, after my shift." She said, pulling away from Glenn before she walked off to continue work.

"She's so pretty." Glenn commented and Daryl chuckled, but nodded in agreement. "It's going to be tough, I know it's crazy and we're young, but... her father is really good to us. He doesn't judge us, he just wants a Bible name for the baby." Glenn explained and they both chuckled.

"You two are gonna be great parents." Daryl said sincerely before the two of them began to eat the wedges while they waited for Maggie's shift to end and Daryl definitely wasn't checking out Rick when the guy had his back turned. Nope, not at all.


	2. Chapter 2

***20 Years Ago***

Daryl was walking home from the café after declining Glenn and Maggie's offer to drive him home. They knew why he didn't want them driving him home, but they still offered to drop him off a few streets away or something, but Daryl didn't want to risk his family seeing them and putting them in danger.

He walked along the footpath down the main street when sudden honking and shouting erupted behind him. He turned around in confusion spotting Maggie's small Toyota hatchback stopped in the middle of the road while the cars behind her continued to honk.

Daryl quickly jogged back towards the car as Maggie kept trying to turn the key in the ignition, but nothing was happening. Glenn leant over from the passenger seat, but he didn't know what to do either as Daryl came up to her drivers side window and she rolled it down. 

"I'm sorry, Daryl. I don't know what's wrong. Tell them I'm sorry." Maggie quickly said, looking over at him helplessly.

"Maggie, it's fine, okay? Just put it in neutral and we'll push." Daryl responded gently, trying to calm her down. "C'mon, Glenn." Daryl said, nodding towards the back of the car as Glenn hopped out and they both walked around to the back about to start pushing when the honking and shouting continued.

Daryl stepped back from the car as he raised his hand towards Glenn. Silently telling him to wait there before he began to walk towards the car that was honking and yelling.

He shouldn't have been surprised to find that it was just one car that was making all the noise, while the other cars must have realised what was going on and were waiting patiently. He stared at the convertible sports car spotting Shane in the drivers seat while five other jocks sat in the back yelling out insults.

Daryl walked up the bright red sports car stopping beside Shane who was staring up at him in amusement. Daryl didn't say anything for a second as he stared at him, sparing a quickly glance to the rest of the assholes in the car before he spotted Rick sitting the back quietly.

"Ya guys wanna get out 'n help us push, or ya just gonna sit there 'n keep honkin?" Daryl questioned, glancing around at the guys in the car before they all quickly nodded and sat back down in their seats.

"It won't happen again."

"Yeah, sorry." They all quickly apologised and Daryl nodded, glancing back towards Rick who looked down, almost ashamed of his friends before Daryl began walking away. He barely took two steps before the honking started up again.

His hands began to form fists by his side, but he kept walking. It probably wasn't a good idea to take on five guys at once, but boy was he considering it if they kept that shit up. He didn't even care that they were Rick's friends, he'd knock them out for yelling at Maggie like that.

"They aren't worth it, man. Let's just push." Glenn called out, noticing the anger in his features and Daryl sighed but nodded as he instructed Maggie to steer the car towards the side street while they pushed.

Glenn pushed by the passenger window while Daryl pushed from the back and it didn't take long to get the car rolling.

Suddenly someone appeared beside him, helping them push as Daryl glanced to his left and had to do a double take when he realised it was Rick. Why the fuck would he want to help?

Daryl gave him a small nod and Rick smiled back as they continued to push the car before Maggie turned off into the side street and pulled over on the side of the road as Daryl tapped the back window to tell her to stop.

"That'll do, Maggie." He shouted and she gave him the thumbs up out her window and parked the car before he began to walk around to the bonnet and pulled it up. His eyes began to scan the engine under the hood to locate what was wrong before he felt Rick's presence from beside him.

"Should I call a tow truck?" Rick asked, standing beside him as they both stared at the engine, but Daryl shook his head.

"Nah, I got it." He replied and leant over the hood as he began to fiddle with the loose wire, trying to distract himself from the man next to him, but that didn't really work when Rick started to talk to him.

"I'm sorry about my friends. They try to be funny, but only succeed at being idiots." Rick said Daryl hummed in agreement as he finished twisting the loose wires together. Ricks friends were real jerks and for a while Daryl thought that Rick might be like them too, but now he knew he wasn't.

"Rick, c'mon let's go." Shane shouted as he pulled up beside them causing Rick to sigh as he stood up and Daryl did the same, glancing towards the group in the car before looking back at him.

"It's alright, ya don't have to wait around." Daryl muttered, knowing Rick probably didn't want to be hanging around him for any longer than he needed to. He was used to it, plus he should probably get home soon anyway if he didn't want his father to go off at him for getting home late. "Thanks for your help."

"No worries, anytime." Rick replied with a friendly smile before he walked back towards his friends and jumped over the back door of the convertible as Shane sped off. He watched as the car disappeared down the road before Glenn and Maggie walked around the back of her car towards him and Daryl knew he was in trouble by the expression on their faces.

"I don't want you to take this the wrong way because you're my best friend and all, but you are a jackass. Did you not see that guy who just pushed a car to try and talk to you?" Glenn questioned, staring at him in disbelief, but Daryl shook his head as he pulled down the bonnet of Maggie's car.

"Nah, he was just bein' nice. He's nice." He muttered, glancing between his two friends who were staring at him like he was stupid.

"Yeah, he is. He's also hot, even I can appreciate that." Glenn responded causing Daryl to scoff.

"He is hot." Maggie agreed and Daryl sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win this argument with the two of them teaming up against him, so he decided to end the conversation.

"Start the car up, it'll be fine now. I'll see you guys tomorrow at school."

-

***Present***

Daryl hadn't talked to anyone in his family since he was a teenager and he didn't indent to renew their acquaintance now. Just a quick trip in and out of town. He'd do what he had to do and he didn't plan on hanging around any longer than he had to.

He'd been driving for over six hours now, but he didn't mind the long drive. It was nice to just sit in his truck with the windows down, the radio playing softly in the background as he drove across the country.

He spent most the drive debating where to stay the night once he got into town. There was a bed and breakfast motel that was pretty cheap, but if he stayed there it was only a matter of time before word spread that he was back in town and he didn't want his family to know.

At least his family lived on a property on the far side of the town. A bunch of old rundown cabins and small rusty trailers covered the land that his father and cousins called home. His Uncle Jesse used to live there too until a drug deal gone wrong got him killed, but despite being a drug dealer his uncle was probably the best out of all of them.

Daryl was only a boy when he died, but his uncle never yelled at him or hurt him and he loved his two sons more than anything, something Daryl could only dream of. But once he died Daryl's father, Will, became the legal guardian for his cousins and turned the sweet innocent kids into something his uncle would be ashamed of.

He knew his father only took his cousins under his wing because he didn't like how him and Merle had turned out and thought he could make his nephews into the sons that he wanted. His old man didn't like how Merle shipped off to the army as soon as he was 18 to get away, leaving Daryl with his fucked up family.

For a while Daryl hated his older brother for just leaving him, hated him for leaving him alone with their abusive father. But as Daryl got older he began to understand why Merle left and if he was in his brothers position then he probably would've done the same thing.

The Dixons were a bunch of alcoholics, drug dealers, wife beaters, abusers, thieves and all the above. His father was the worst of all, he spent most of his teens and 20's locked up and then spent the rest of his life drunk or high.

How or why his mother had married him in the first place was a question Daryl had never figured out and he didn't blame her for killing herself after the shit his father would've put her through. He had thought about running away from home too many times to count, thought about just packing a bag and never stepping foot in that town again, but he couldn't.

He wondered if his father and cousins still lived in town. He wondered if they were even still alive or if they had finally drunk themselves into the ground, he hoped for the latter, but he had no desire to go find out. He'd stay clear of that side of town while he was here.

As he finally entered the town he quickly realised just how little the town had changed. It still had the old faded _'Welcome_' sign at the entrance of the town. The stores that lined the main street were all the same, maybe a few new shops and some that have clearly had renovations done, but it was all still the same.

He drove past the lawyers firm where he had to meet Andrea Harrison tomorrow to discuss Dales will, funeral and all that stuff. He continued driving down the main street before turning down a side road that lead to the towns cemetery.

It was late afternoon as he pulled over the side of the road, picking a couple bundles of Cherokee Roses before climbing back into his truck and driving to the cemetery.

He parked in the small carpark at the back and walked through the old rusty gate. Turning left and walking past all the old graves, his eyes scanned the names on the headstones before he stopped in front of the one he was looking for. Merle Dixon.

He sat in front of his brothers grave placing one of the bundles of Cherokee Roses against the small grey headstone that read-

_'Merle Dixon_  
_ 1969 – 1996'_

That was all that was written on it, that was all his family had put on it, but Daryl knew he should be glad his father even bought Merle a gravestone. Although, it was probably the army that paid for it anyway since he was killed in action.

Daryl was still in jail when it happened and received a call from one of Merle's army officials telling him about his brother's death.

He sat in front of grave for nearly an hour before he stood up, saying goodbye to his brother before he walked further into the cemetery towards the familiar black gravestone of Glenn Rhee. He smiled sadly as he read the gravestone despite having read it over a hundred times before.

_'In loving memory of Glenn Rhee_  
_ 1973 – 1992_  
_ Loving boyfriend of Maggie _  
_ Devoted father to Hershel Jr_  
_ Love you always._  
_ Earth has one gentle soul less, Heaven has one special angel more'_

He placed the flowers in front of the headstone, resting his hand on top of it for a few seconds before he walked back towards his truck and drove off to Dale's house.

He wasn't sure why he was going back to Dale's house. He pulled into the driveway and spotted the old _'D. Horvath Auto Repair' _sign out the front before he parked the truck in front of the garage beside the house where Dale did all his mechanic repairs for his customers.

It was home. This town was home. Although, many of the memories were painful, it was here where Dale befriended him and it was here where he'd met Rick.

Daryl didn't dare go inside the house, a part of him felt like he didn't deserve to go inside the old mans house after everything that happened the last time he was here when he was a teenager. So, instead he walked over to the garage, kicking over a brick by the door exposing the spare key that Dale always kept there.

Grabbing the key, he unlocked the padlock to the garage and pulled open the large sliding door to find an old vintage Ford Mustang that Dale was no doubt fixing up before he passed away.

Slowly Daryl walked inside the garage. His eyes scanning the familiar room, taking in all Dale's tools hanging up along the far wall, all of them still in their same designated spots from all those years ago.

He made his way over to the work bench were the paperwork and owners information was usually kept. Daryl sighed with relief spotting the pile of papers as he began to go through it to try find the owner of the Ford Mustang.

It didn't take long to find the right papers and discovered the classic car belonged to a man named, Paul Rovia, who lived in a town called Hilltop in Virginia.

It wasn't hard for Daryl to find the man's number on the paper and gave him a call to explain the situation. To Daryl's relief the man was extremely understanding about the situation. A lot of people wouldn't be so nice and would just care about getting their car back and nothing else.

Paul agreed to let Daryl fix up the car and said he'd get a friend to drive him into town to pick up it up when it was finished. But told Daryl not to stress about fixing it quickly and told him to take however long he needed and gave him his condolences for Dale.

Despite Paul not caring about how soon his car will be fixed, Daryl didn't have anything better to do for the rest of the day and figured he might as well get started. According to the papers the car still needed it's gear box fixed along with the taillights that apparently needed replacing.

He walked over to the car, popping open the hood as he took in how much Dale had already done to the car. He mentally made a list of the things that needed to be done before the owner could come and pick it up.

Adjusting the leather vest he wore over his black button down shirt that he'd ripped the sleeves off of years ago, he walked over to the tool bench, grabbing the socket set before and began to get working on the beautiful car.

He was so focused on what he was doing he didn't even heard the car pull up outside by his truck an hour later. Nor did he hear the person walk towards the garage until they knocked on the open garage door.

Daryl didn't think much of it, assuming it was the probably that Andrea woman from the attorney's office. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and stood up straight to look past the bonnet of the car towards the woman.

He was about to call out a greeting to her when suddenly he realised who it was and his voice died in his throat. Rick Grimes.

Even from a distance Rick was more handsome than he remembered. The long sleeved dark green button-down shirt, tucked into his dark jeans outlining his broad shoulders and muscular arms. His hair was slightly longer now and a bit curly, along with salt and pepper stubble that was nearly thick enough to be a beard, but not quiet.

As he continued to stare he began to take in more of Ricks features and he realised that the years had been kind to him. He lost his softness of youth and had now grown into a mature man with a sharp jawline and deeper blue eyes and Daryl knew then and there that he was screwed.

For what seemed to be an endless span of time, neither of them could say anything.

For a moment Daryl thought he might be hallucinating him again, but as Rick stared back at him in a mixture of shock and confusion, Daryl knew he was real. Rick was real, he was here and standing in the refuge that had once been theirs and suddenly Daryl realised why Dale had insisted in his will that he'd come back home.

"Rick?" Was all he could bring himself to say and even then it sounded more like a question than any form of greeting as he stared at the man he fell in love with all those years ago.

"Daryl?" Rick questioned and he could hear the wonder in the man's voice, like he wasn't sure if he was hallucinating either.

Neither of them moved as they continued to stare at each other, taking in just how much time had gone by since they last saw one another.

"You're still wearing that same old vest." Rick observed, but Daryl knew that he wasn't judging him. He was just more amused by it than anything and Daryl just shrugged, not really knowing how to respond to that statement.

"How'd ya know I'd be here?" He asked, unable to think of anything else to say as he pulled out the red rag he kept tucked in his back pocket and began to wipe the grease from his hands.

"I didn't. I'm meant to meet with Dale's attorney tomorrow, but wanted to swing by here first." Rick explained.

"Let me guess, 10 a.m. tomorrow with Andrea Harrison?" Daryl questioned and by the sudden surprised look on Rick's face he'd take that as a yes.

It was then, while Rick was staring at him in shock from the door to the garage, that Daryl suddenly knew why Dale had insisted he'd come back home. Dale had somehow planned this little reunion all along. Even if they hadn't met here, they would've met tomorrow no matter what and Daryl wasn't sure if he wanted to punch or hug Dale for setting this whole thing up.

"I take it, you didn't know what Dale was up to either? I mean, I caught up with him every few months, but I didn't know he had this whole plan set up." Rick finally responded in disbelief and Daryl wasn't sure if the man was glad or annoyed at Dale for doing it, but he sure as hell wasn't going to ask.

He was relived to hear that Rick had caught up with Dale occasionally though. Especially since he hadn't seen Dale since he left town, but he made sure he wrote to him frequently.

"It's been a long time." Daryl stated, tucking the rag back into his pocket as he closed the bonnet of the car and walked outside to where Rick was still standing.

"20 years." Rick sighed and Daryl hummed in agreement, although it had been 21 years, but he wasn't going to say that out loud. Rick had obviously moved on with his life, he was wearing a damn wedding ring on his finger and Daryl wasn't about to correct him and sound desperate or anything.

"I'm married now, figured I should probably tell you." He informed, almost as if he could read his mind.

"I know, saw the ring. How long ya been married for?" He asked, although he didn't think he'd want to know the answer. Didn't even want to think about Rick being with another person and he hated himself for those selfish thoughts, but he couldn't help it.

"18 years next month." Rick answered, fiddling with the ring on his finger as he stared at the ground, not really knowing what else to say. Daryl tucked his thumbs into the front pockets of his jeans as he leant against the wooden garage door as he stared at Rick.

"Kids?"

Rick didn't responded for a few seconds, seeming lost in thought and Daryl wasn't sure why that was such a difficult question. "Two." Rick finally answered, but there something off about his tone, but again Daryl wasn't going to call him out about it, if Rick wanted to talk then he'd talk.

"I should probably get going, I'm staying at my mothers house." Rick said awkwardly a few seconds later and Daryl nodded, but eyed him curiously as to why he didn't say 'his parents house', but again Rick must have realised what he was thinking and explained further.

"My dad passed away 11 years ago." Shit. He was thinking that his parents might have gotten a divorce or something, not this.

"M'sorry." Daryl replied and he meant it, despite thinking the mans father was a piece of shit.

"I'm sorry about Merle, heard about what happened to him overseas while you were still... you know." Rick shrugged and Daryl nodded, knowing what the man was trying to say before Rick slowly began to walk back towards his BMW that Daryl had only just noticed was parked beside his truck.

"I'll see ya tomorrow." Daryl said causing Rick to stop walking as he glanced back towards him in confusion. "The attorney?"

"Right, of course, the attorney. I'll see you then." Rick quickly corrected himself, seeming almost flustered as he walked over to his car. Daryl just watched as the black BMW drove out the properly, leaving him leaning against the garage door in utter shock.

It's been over 20 years and he thought that he had gotten over his feelings for Rick, but clearly he was wrong and it was in that moment that Daryl knew he was so incredibly screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am absolutely blown away by the support I have gotten for this fic. I can't believe people are actually enjoying this fic after the first chapter. Thank you all so much, I am honestly speechless. I have worked really hard on this fic and your comments and support means the absolute world to me. Thank you to everyone who gave this fic a chance and I hope I don't disappoint you. 
> 
> Anyway, the chapter will be up in a couple of days, so until then stay safe everyone and have a great day xx


	3. Chapter 3

***20 Years Ago***

Daryl was slowly making his way across the school carpark, not even caring that he was one of the last ones to leave the school. He preferred to take his time after the bell rang even if it was only a few minutes, it was still a few minutes that he didn't have to spend at home.

He knew other kids weren't like that, most kids sat through classes just staring at the clock wanting to go home and wishing for the weekend. But Daryl was the opposite and wished for weekends to be over quickly.

It wasn't that he liked school, he actually hated it and thought it was pointless with the stupid shit his teachers would teach. But he'd rather sit through bullshit classes than sit through bullshit with his family.

He thought he was the last one to leave the premises, but then he spotted Rick standing in front of his car in the middle of the empty parking lot with the bonnet up.

Daryl quickly glanced around wondering if there was any of Ricks friends around to help him, but they were alone. For a second he thought about just walking off and pretending like he never saw him, but he couldn't just leave someone with a broken-down car, especially not Rick.

He began to make his way over to the other guy, not saying anything as he reached Rick's side and glanced between Rick and what was under the bonnet.

Rick exhaled deeply as he looked over at Daryl. "I don't know much about cars unless the tyre needs changing, but I turn the key and nothing happens." Rick explained, motioning towards the car and Daryl nodded turning his attention back to what was under the hood as his eyes scanned the engine trying to find the source of the issue.

"Think this is karma? Payback for being party to the honking the other day?" Rick asked causing Daryl to snort.

"Reckon the universe dished out swift justice." Daryl responded, staring at the engine as Rick laughed at what he just said and Daryl couldn't help but smile slightly hearing the man laugh.

"Oh, he speaks. He's sorta funny." Rick commented and Daryl could feel his cheeks blushing slightly as he leant over the hood and reached out towards the battery that had been disconnected as he reconnected it and took a step back.

"Try it now." Daryl muttered, pointing towards the drivers seat. Rick walked around the car and opened the door as he leant through and turned the key as his car roared to life.

"Thank you." Rick responded, a wide smile spread across his face as he leant against his open door, resting his arms over the top as he stared at Daryl who shoved his hands into the pockets of his ripped jeans.

"Your battery got disconnected. Ain't major. It happens." Daryl informed, shutting the bonnet as he took a couple steps in Rick's direction not really knowing what else to say or do as he stared at Rick and sighed.

"My friend thinks ya were tryin' to talk to me the other day." He wasn't entirely sure why he said that, but it had been bugging him ever since Glenn said it.

"I was." Rick nodded, an unreadable expression on his face as he stared at him.

"He thinks I blew it."

"You did." Rick admitted, leaning against his car door as Daryl dropped his head and stared at the ground, not really knowing how to respond to that causing Rick to frown. "Okay, maybe I'm reading the situation wrong, but are you... are you gay? If you're not then forget I even said anything and I won't bother you again, but-"

"Yeah." Daryl cut him off and immediately shut his mouth straight after, shocked that he just said that out loud. Why the hell would he tell Rick? Nobody but Glenn and Maggie knew and he did not want that little bit of information to get out. If his father ever found out that he was gay... he didn't even want to think about how he'd react.

"That's a relief, otherwise what I'm going to ask next would have been really awkward." Rick chuckled causing Daryl to snap his head back up towards Rick in confusion. "Do you want to grab a drink with me? Maybe Saturday at Squeals... 6 o'clock?" Rick asked and Daryl stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds before he began to shake his head.

They couldn't just go out on a date to one of the most popular places in town, even if it wasn't popular they couldn't just go on a date together. If people saw the two of them on a date all hell would break loose. Yes, Rick's family was highly respected in town and people might not care about his sexuality. But if word got back to his father or his cousins that a Dixon had been seen on a date with person of the same sex... it would be a totally different story and Daryl would be lucky to live to tell that story.

"I-I can't... We can't just..." Daryl stuttered tripping over his words as he struggled to say what he was trying to and he groaned at himself, rubbing his face with shaky hands. "Can't be gay in this damn town. We can't just go on a date like normal people."

"We're not normal people? I'm not normal?" Rick questioned and Daryl quickly shook his head. Shit, that's not what he was trying to say. Why can't he ever just say what he means?

"That ain't what I meant, it's just-"

"Relax, I'm messing with you, I know what you mean. But, why can't two friends go out and have a drink together?" Rick suggested a small smile on his face as he watched Daryl slowly process what he just said. "Shane and I go to Squeals all the time together to hang out. We can do that too, nobody has to know that it's a date or something."

"You're askin' me out on a date?" Daryl asked because he couldn't figure out why Rick would even want to be seen with him, let alone ask him out on a date.

"Well, I'm trying to." Rick chuckled nervously and Daryl stared at him for a few seconds trying to figure out if he was being serious before he nodded. "Is that a 'yes'?" Rick asked.

"Yeah." Daryl replied with a slight smile causing Rick to smile too as he nodded, relief evident in his features.

"Alright, I'll see you then. Thank you for fixing my car too." Rick said, climbing into the drivers side as Daryl took a step away from the car.

"No problem." He responded, unable to stop himself from smiling as he watched Rick put the car into gear and drove off before he turned around and began walking home, hoping his family weren't home to ruin his now good mood.

-

It took nearly 20 minutes before he turned off the bitumen road and down the dirt driveway that lead into the Dixon property. There were a couple old rusty trailers parked off to the left where any of his fathers friends stayed when they were over, while Daryl and his cousins live in the small rundown house in the centre of the property with his father.

He spotted his fathers black pickup truck parked out the front, but no others vehicles were in the area indicating that his fathers friends had left while he'd been at school and he sure as hell wasn't going to complain about that.

He hoped his father was already passed out on the couch since he was already two beers down before Daryl even left for school this morning, but as he opened the broken flyscreen door to the house he knew that wasn't the case.

He could hear his father and cousins in the lounge room, laughing and shouting at each other, no doubt playing some sort of card game which Daryl had no interest in joining.

Quietly, he closed the door behind himself and silently walked down the hallway towards his bedroom, hoping none of his family would see him. He didn't want to deal with any of their shit, not tonight. For once Daryl was actually in a good mood and he didn't want his father to ruin it. But, of course, life always had a different idea.

"Where ya running off to, Daryl?" His fathers voice suddenly questioned and Daryl froze where he stood as he stared at his bedroom door that was a few metres too far away.

Slowly he walked back a few steps until he was in line with the lounge room door and looked in spotting his father sitting on the couch while his two cousins, Kyle and Ted sat on deck chairs around a small fold out table between them covered in playing cards and booze. "I expect ya to say 'hello'."

"Hello." Daryl replied with a small nod, not wanting to say anything else in case it might set his father off because for once he seemed to be in a relaxed mood.

"Come on in here. Sit down. Let's play a hand of cards or something." His father suggested motioning towards the card table in front of him while Ted started to shuffle the deck of cards from where he sat.

"No, I'm... I got stuff to do- I got homework." Daryl lied, trying to think of any form of excuse to get him away from his father and cousins, suddenly missing Merle more than ever. His brother was always good at making up lies to get away from their father and always helped Daryl whenever he was stuck in this sort of situation.

"He thinks he's smarter than us. Is that true? Ya think you're smarter than us? Think you're too good for this family?" His father questioned a slight edge to his tone and Daryl quickly shook his head.

"No, sir."

"That's good, because this is where ya belong. Here." He said, pulling out a set of keys from his pocket and tossed it towards him as Daryl caught them easily with one hand, his other holding the strap to his backpack over his shoulder.

"Why don't ya go out back and tune up the Merc. We got a delivery upriver tomorrow night and you're going with us." His father explained and Daryl froze looking up from the keys in his hand as he stared at his father.

He couldn't go tomorrow night. He was meeting Rick at Squeals tomorrow night. He couldn't just ditch Rick and tell him that his father forced him to do a drug delivery with him and his cousins. He didn't want to do any deliveries, he wanted to spend time with Rick.

"I can't go tomorrow night. I got somethin' to do." Daryl answered, but as soon as the words left his mouth he instantly regretted them.

His cousins had learnt from an early age to just agree and do whatever Will says, but Daryl had never seemed to learn that. Merle had been the same, which was why he needed to get out before he ended up killing the bastard and got sent to jail and sometimes Daryl wished Merle would come back and do it.

Suddenly, his father slammed his half drunken bottle of beer down on the card table as he stood up from the couch and marched towards him, but despite the amount of alcohol running through his fathers blood, the man didn't even look drunk. Fucking seasonal drinker.

"Ya didn't listen to a goddamn thing I said, did ya?" Will questioned, taking a few more steps towards him until they were practically face to face before he slammed his fist into the side of Daryl's face.

Sudden pain erupted across the left side of his face as he stumbled back a few steps. His hands instantly reached for his left eye that he could already feel was starting to bruise.

"I'm not-" Daryl began to say as he stood back up straight and stared at his father who cut him off.

"I'm not what?" He questioned, taking a step towards Daryl who's hands balled into fists by his side, but forced himself to stay calm.

He might not have learnt how to shut up and just agree to whatever his father says, but he'd never fought against his father before and he did not intend to see how well that would end. Yes, Daryl had started to get stronger over the past couple of years, his muscles slowly getting bigger while his father just kept getting older, greyer and fatter. The alcohol and smokes doing nothing but adding an extra ten years to his looks.

"I'm not what?" His father repeated and Daryl just glared at him, knowing it was best not say anything and piss his father off even more, but apparently not saying anything also seemed to piss him off as he punched him across the face again.

"Hey, hey, come on, Pop. Let's play some cards." Kyle suggested, trying to get Will's attention away from Daryl which he was grateful for. He might not like Kyle much, the guy was an asshole and drunk more often than not. But the two of them always looked out for each other whenever Will was in a violent mood, whereas Kyle's brother, Ted, was the total opposite and egged Will on whenever he was in that mood.

"I swear to God, Daryl, you are a slow fucking learner! Ya still got someplace to be Saturday night?" Will questioned and Daryl knew this was a test, but he was beyond the point of caring at the moment because he was done with this. He was done with his fathers bullshit. He was done with letting his father drag him around and doing runs or deliveries for him. He was done with it all.

"Yes, sir." Daryl answered, hating how his voice trembled slightly as he forced himself to stand up straight and his fathers eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched and Daryl knew exactly what was about to happen. But as his father took another swing about to punch him again, Daryl quickly took a step back and caught his fist before it could connect to his face.

The look on his fathers face was priceless as Daryl's hand tightened around Will's fist before he pushed it away and Will stared at him in disbelief before a grin slowly broke out across his face.

"Ya wanna hit me? Ya hit me, ya see where that'll get ya." Will threatened and Daryl just stared at him for a few seconds before Will chuckled and walked back into the lounge room, sitting down on his couch as Ted passed him another beer.

Daryl took that as his cue to leave and rushed down the hallway to his bedroom and shut the door behind himself. He couldn't stay here anymore. He could barely hold himself back from punching his father and all his father had done was hit him twice. Will had done a hell of a lot worse than that over the years, most of which involved belts and cigarettes, and Daryl knew if his father so much as reached for his belt to whip him then he wouldn't be able to hold himself back and he might end up killing the bastard himself.

Now he understood why Merle left. He knew why his brother left, and understood that it was his only choice, but now Daryl understood how Merle felt during those last few months at home with their father and how close he'd come to snapping and taking the man out before the army finally accepted his application and shipped him overseas. But Daryl didn't have that option, although he knew he needed to leave. He couldn't stay here anymore.

Quickly, Daryl began to throw the little belongings he had into his backpack. A few pairs of jeans that weren't completely torn to shreds along with a couple flannel shirts, some with the sleeves others that had been ripped off years ago either by himself or Merle, since most of his clothes used to belong to his brother.

He grabbed his leather vest, throwing it on over his long-sleeved black button down shirt before throwing his backpack over his shoulders. He grabbed his crossbow from under his bed, clipping the spare bolts he had onto the quiver attached to his crossbow.

Once satisfied that he had collected what he needed he opened his bedroom door quietly, peaking his head out to make sure nobody was in the hallway. He sighed with relief hearing his father and cousins talking from the lounge room, indicating that it was clear.

Silently he made his way further down the hallway and sneaked out the back door, wincing when the door squeaked as he closed it, but luckily his family were too loud to hear the noise before he took off jogging through the woods out the back of the property.

Daryl knew the woods on the outskirts of town like the back of his hand. The only thing he liked about the Dixon property was that it was literally located on the edge of the woods and none of his family ever went out there except him and Merle. The woods was his escape, his safe place. It was the one place he could disappear to where his family wouldn't be able to find him.

Merle bought him out to the woods as soon as he could walk. Taught him how to hunt and track as soon as he was old enough to pull a slingshot back and once Merle deemed him strong enough, his brother bought him a crossbow and he'd hunted with that ever since.

Daryl wasn't really sure where he was going to go as he slowed down to a walk and glanced around the woods to get his bearings. He knew if he kept going straight he would eventually reach the town, but he didn't really want to go into town.

He thought about going to Glenn's house or even Maggie's family farm. He knew Glenn wouldn't mind having him over until he figured out what to do nor would Maggie, but he also knew that Glenn's parents probably wouldn't want a Dixon in their house and Hershel definitely wouldn't want that either.

Plus, he knew how much danger he'd be putting his friends in if he stayed at their houses. He knew his father would eventually find out where he was and would try make him come back home and he didn't want the Rhee or Greene family in any danger or on his fathers radar.

However, when it started to rain he knew he needed to make a decision. He could easily outlast the light shower of rain in the woods, but when the rain began to get heavier and heavier he knew he needed to find shelter somewhere unless he wanted to get cold.

He jogged through the woods until he reached the outskirts of the town. The sky now dark after sunset covered by thick storm clouds as he continued running down the street, relieved that his family property was on the other side of town and know none of them would be out driving in this weather.

He continued to jog down the bitumen road. His clothes and hair absolutely drenched as thunder echoed through the sky followed by flashes of lightning in the distance. The faint street lights lighting up the road as he jogged until he had to stop, unable to run any further as he tried to get air back into his lungs.

He glanced around the street, spotting a dirt driveway to his left that lead to a fairly large house and a wooden garage. He figured that was a good a place as any to camp out for the night or at least until the rain died down a bit.

Making his way over to the garage, he glanced over at the house and couldn't see any lights or cars parked out the front so he figured nobody was around as he tried to open the sliding door before he spotted the padlock connected to it. But, he spotted a window on the side of the garage and jogged over to it and to his relief it wasn't locked as he slid the window up, throwing the bag and crossbow inside before climbing in.

It was dark outside, but a couple work lights were on inside, lighting the garage up as Daryl took in the area and quickly realised it was some kind of work shed if the vintage Chevrolet Chevelle parked in the middle of the room was any indication.

He walked around the garage for a few minutes, smiling slightly at the framed photo of an older couple before he glanced around the room again and figured he might as well sit down and get comfortable until the rain stopped. Dropping his backpack and crossbow to the ground beside him, he sat down leaning his back against the front tyre of the Chevrolet Chevelle.

He only meant to stay there until the rain stopped and he'd go back outside and try figure out why he'd go, but he must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew something was poking him in the shoulder. 

He opened his eyes in confusion to find an older man standing above him with a leaver action rifle aimed at his face.

Daryl's body instantly tense as he sat up straighter, his hands instantly raised in surrender as he looked around and sighed, realising that he had fallen asleep and the owner had found him. Shit, he was in so much trouble.

He glanced down at his backpack and crossbow to find that his crossbow had been kicked away from him and he had to give the old man credit for moving the weapon away from him, but Daryl was already regretting bringing the crossbow with him. If this guy calls the cops he'd be done for trespassing and he had a weapon with him, that was just a thousand times worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your support, I still can't believe people are actually liking this and your comments mean the absolute world to me. I hope you are all still enjoying this fic, let me know in the comments below if you are, I would love to hear your thoughts.  
Anyway, until next time stay safe everyone and have a great day xx


	4. Chapter 4

  
***20 Years Ago***

"You are either the worst car thief in the history of the world... or you have a story to tell." The older man said, taking a step back so the barrel of the gun wasn't pressing into Daryl's shoulder as he sat there frozen staring at the man with wide eyes. "What's your name?"

"Daryl Dixon." He quickly answered, not knowing if the man was actually planning on firing the gun or just using it to frighten him because it if it was the latter then it was fucking working, he was frightened.

"Will Dixon's boy?" The man asked and now if the man wasn't planning on firing the gun earlier, he sure as hell would be planning on it now.

"Yes, sir." Daryl answered, dropping his head in shame. He was so fucking screwed.

"Well, that is unfortunate." The man sighed, but to Daryl's shock he didn't pull the trigger. "My name's Dale. What happened to your eye?" Dale asked and Daryl lifted his head to meet the older mans gaze.

"Just ran into a tree." He lied.

"A tree with a mean right cross." Dale responded, lowering the rifle and clearing the chamber before throwing it over his shoulder by the gun strap.

"You got any place to stay? Friends? Anything like that?" Dale questioned and all Daryl could do was stare at the man thinking he must have heard him wrong before he shook his head.

"No, sir."

"Shit." Dale sighed, walking off towards the garage door as he pushed it open and Daryl took that as his cue to leave. He grabbed his backpack and crossbow from the ground as he stood up and began to follow the man out the garage.

"Where are you going?" Dale suddenly questioned, glancing over his shoulder as he opened the door to his blue truck that was parked outside the garage and Daryl stopped where he was standing in the middle of the mans garage in confusion.

He wasn't really sure what he was meant to do as he watched Dale grab an old blanket from the truck and walked back into the garage and threw it to him.

"That foldout couch over there ought to be more comfortable than the ground. Water out the hose is good to drink. If there's any trouble, anything goes missing, anything like that, the next one to wake you up will be a Sheriff's deputy. You understand that?" The man asked and it took Daryl's brain a few seconds to click with what the man was saying. He was letting him stay? Why would he do that?

"Yes, sir." Daryl answered, unable to detect if the man was just messing with him or not before the guy nodded and walked back out the garage and muttered _'shit'_ under his breath and yeah, _'shit' _was right. Why the hell would someone help him? He didn't even know this man and the man clearly knew about the Dixon family, but didn't seem to fazed by it.

By the time Daryl figured out how to set up the foldout couch Dale had reappeared without his rifle and asked him if he was any good at putting cars back together and then further explained how he ran his mechanics business from inside the garage, repairing and restoring old vehicles.

Daryl had happily agreed to helping work on the Chevrolet Chevelle and did his best to prove his worth. He always loved working with vehicles whether it was a Chevy truck or Triumph motorcycle, if it had an engine and wheels he was more than happy to work on it.

Merle had taught him a bit about mechanics when he was a kid and after his brother had left, he taught himself everything else.

Dale seemed to be impressed with his skills and knowledge under the hood of the car and offered him a deal, saying that he could stay here if he helped fix whatever cars he needed to work on and Daryl agreed straight away.

Dale never made him pay rent and Daryl bought his own food with the money he'd earn from Dale for working. He tried to save most of it, never splurging on anything that he didn't need, wanting to save his money because he knew one day he might not be so lucky to have a roof over his head.

-

Rick had been sitting at the small table under the front veranda of the café Squeal's for over an hour now.

His chocolate milkshake long ago finished as he fiddled with the straw inside the cup and stared at the clock on the outside wall. Where the hell was Daryl? Did the guy just decide not to show and stand him up? Did something come up and he couldn't make it?

If that was the case then he could have called him... okay, no he couldn't have called him because they didn't exchange numbers. But, Daryl knew where he'd be, so he could've called the phone at Squeals and told him that way instead of just not showing up and saying anything and making Rick look like an idiot.

He glanced around the front of the café, watching as another group of people left since there was only half an hour left before closing time.

He was tempted to just go home and look the Dixons phone number up in the towns phone book and go off at him over the phone, but then he spotted Glenn through the window of the café, talking with Maggie who must have just finished her shift. If anyone knew where Daryl was right now, it would be the two of them.

Without a second thought he quickly stood up, grabbing his empty cup and chucking it in the rubbish bin before he walked through the front door of the café.

There were a few workers wiping the benches around the café, while Glenn sat at one of the booths with Maggie sitting opposite him still in her uniform and chatting away happily.

Rick walked over to their table, crossing his arms over his chest which caught the couples attention as Maggie stopped midsentence about something to do with her sister stealing her clothes as they both turned towards him in confusion.

"Where is he?" Rick asked, not bothering to greet them as he focused his attention on Glenn who he knew was Daryl's best friend. Rick was right because the second he asked Glenn's face immediately dropped and turned to guilt as he looked down.

"You know where Dale Horvath's house is? That auto mechanics place?" Glenn said, looking up at Rick who was a little taken back by the guys answer before he nodded.

His father had taken one of his prized cars to Dale a few months ago to get fixed up and his father hadn't stop raving about how great of a job the man did. Why would Daryl be at Dale's house?

"Thanks." Rick replied, nodding at them both before he walked out the café towards his car that was parked on the side of the road.

He didn't really have a plan or know what he was going to say once he got to Dale's house, but all he knew was that he needed to see Daryl and get an answer to why he didn't show.

-

Daryl was currently leaning over the engine of the Chevy, halfway through repairing the radiator when he heard a car pull up outside.

He glanced out towards the open garage door spotting an all too familiar car pull up. He quickly leant his forearms against the side of the car, ducking his head under the open bonnet as he silently cursed.

Why the hell is Rick here? How did he even know where he was? No, that was a stupid question, Rick was at Squeals and Maggie worked most Saturdays, he probably just asked her. Shit.

He heard the car door slam shut and he could tell Rick was pissed without even having to look at the other guy. Daryl busied himself with the wrench, loosening a couple bolts and doing them back up again for no reason other than for something to do because no way could he focus on the radiator at the moment.

Once he heard Rick enter the garage he stood up a bit straighter, but made sure to keep the left side of his face hidden behind the bonnet of the car so Rick couldn't see the nasty bruise that had formed over his left eye.

"I decided not to come." Daryl muttered, watching Rick as he stood just inside the garage by the door. It was now dark outside, but the main light in the garage lit up Rick's expression as he stood there staring at him with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Mm yeah, I got that." Rick responded and although Rick was trying to keep his expression neutral, his tone gave away just how angry he was and Daryl didn't blame him.

He had literally stood the other guy up after he asked him out, he'd be pissed if their positions were swapped, but no way could Daryl go out with the bruise over his eye and let Rick see it. He didn't want him asking questions, he didn't want the man to get caught up in all that shit, so he figured blowing the guy off would be a good way to get him to leave, but it obviously had the opposite affect since he was standing right in front of him.

Neither of them said anything for a few seconds as Rick glanced around the garage, his eyes scanning the room until they landed on the foldout couch in the corner of the room where Daryl's bag and blankets were lying.

"Do you live out here?" Rick asked, his eyes flashing between him and the foldout couch and Daryl sighed.

"Is this some kind of game you're playing? With your friends? A lil science experiment ya got goin' on?" Daryl suddenly questioned. He was fairly certain that Rick wasn't playing any games with him and that he genuinely wanted to go out on a date with him for whatever reason that Daryl would never know, but he couldn't stop himself from asking. He needed Rick to leave and if making the guy hate him got him to walk away then that was what he was going to do, no matter how badly he wanted to go out with the guy.

"That's crazy." Rick responded, seeming shocked that he would even suggest such a thing.

"That's crazy is it? Or maybe ya just like strays." Daryl muttered, lowering his head again unable to look at Rick, knowing he was being a dick to the man for no reason.

"Or maybe I like smart guys who haven't had it handed to them." Rick responded marching a couple steps in his direction causing Daryl to scoff in disbelief as he shook his head.

"God, you just don't get it, do you?" Rick growled, but Daryl didn't even have a chance to answer before Rick began to walk off out the garage towards his car.

Daryl let out a sigh of relief when he heard Rick's car door open and close as he leant back down against the open bonnet of the car when suddenly Rick came marching back in. "You know, I just wanted a date!" Rick snapped and Daryl quickly lowered his head back behind the bonnet.

"I wanted to go somewhere, and maybe have some coffee or some ice cream. You ask me questions, I ask you questions and if we just so happen to like the answer, Daryl, then maybe we'll go on another one. And if we don't, then we won't. Nobody needed to know it was a date, just two friends hanging out, but God, if that's just too much to ask, then fine." Rick ranted, running his fingers through his hair as he stared at him before shaking his head. "Forget it. I'm done." He sighed.

Daryl watched as Rick walked off again and he hated himself for what Rick just said. The guy had taken a chance and not only came out to him, but asked him out on a date despite most the town being homophobic and what did Daryl do? He stood the guy up and barely said anything to him when Rick tracked him down for an explanation.

His grip tightened around the wrench in his hand as he shook his head, he couldn't do that to Rick. Without another thought he stood up straight, closing the bonnet of the car as he began to walk out the garage after Rick when suddenly Rick walked back around the corner and they both froze almost bumping into each other.

Rick's eyes widened slightly as he took in the dark bruise covering Daryl's eye and he sighed. Well, there went his plan of trying to keep that a secret.

"This is why I didn't want to go out in public." Daryl muttered, lowering his head slightly in guilt.

Rick didn't say anything for a few seconds and Daryl could have sworn the guy must have walked off before he suddenly spoke. "Well, then let's go somewhere private." Rick said and Daryl lifted his head, his eyes locking with Rick's, but he didn't see any judgement or anger in the mans face and all Daryl could do was nod ever so slightly before the placed the wrench on the work bench behind him and walked out the garage.

Daryl took Rick out to the woods, the moonlight lighting up their path as Rick silently followed him through the dense forest land. He wasn't entirely sure if Rick liked nature and enjoyed being outside, but he figured he'd take the risk and take the guy to a spot him and Merle used to go to occasionally.

It took nearly 20 minutes to walk, but they eventually reached the edge of a cliff that overlooked the entire town. Daryl sighed with relief spotting the familiar wooden log lying on the ground a few metres back from the edge that Merle had cut down and moved there for a seat.

"How did you know about this place? This is beautiful." Rick commented walking towards the edge of the cliff as he stared out towards the town that was lit up with street lights. It was a stunning view during the night, but it was even better during the day when you could see grassy fields along the horizon behind the town.

"My brother took me here years ago, been comin' here ever since." Daryl answered, stopping a few metres behind Rick as he took in the view. No matter how many times he had seen it, it still amazed him.

"Do you come to the woods often?" Rick asked curiously and Daryl just shrugged before he realised that Rick couldn't see him from where he was standing and realised he needed to actually speak.

"Mostly to hunt." He admitted, chewing at his thumbnail as he watched Rick continue to stare out at the scenery before the other man turned around with furrowed brows. Daryl knew that coming from a rich kid the idea of hunting was probably foreign and Rick probably never had to worry about if he was going to be able to eat that night or not, but he had.

"Need to eat." He shrugged causing Rick to frown.

"Doesn't your father buy food?" Rick asked and Daryl couldn't help but scoff at the other man. If only he knew. His mother used to do all the cooking and grocery shopping when he was a kid, but once she died his father just used their money for alcohol and drugs leaving their fridge and pantry with nothing but a few items that had probably expired years ago. 

Him and Merle used to go out hunting together after school, but once Merle left Daryl had to do it himself, but he didn't mind. He enjoyed the silence and without Merle's loudmouth, he could actually sneak up on game a lot easier.

"Unless food counts as beer 'n whiskey, then nah." He muttered, looking away from Rick as he walked over to the long wooden log and sat down. If Rick didn't think his family were nothing but good for nothing rednecks, then he sure as hell did now.

"Did he do that to your eye?" Rick asked softly, walking over to him and taking a seat beside him on the wooden log, their thighs brushing against each other's slightly as he looked over at Daryl taking in the dark blue and purple bruise covering his left eye and the guy nodded. "That why you're living with Dale now?"

"Wasn't the first time he's done somethin' like that, but was the first time I actually stood up against him 'n if I stayed... I would've done more than just stand up against him." Daryl answered, shaking his head at himself and looking down at his boots on the ground, but Rick just nodded seeming to understand what he was referring to.

Neither of them said anything for a while as they sat in surprisingly comfortable silence while they stared at the town lights before Rick broke the silence.

"Do you still want to go on that date or..." Rick trailed off, not really sure how to finish that sentence as he glanced over at Daryl who shrugged his shoulder. "I get it- If you don't want to or-"

"Ain't that, it's just... I..." Daryl sighed, rubbing his face with his hands in frustration. Why couldn't he ever just say what he meant? "I like ya, but I can't risk ya being in danger 'n if you're with me then that's exactly what's gonna happen. Sooner or later my fathers gonna come back 'n I can't have ya around if he does."

"I can take care of myself." Rick responded, raising his eyebrows as he looked over at Daryl who shook his head still staring down at his boots. "He doesn't need to know that we're together." Rick added and for the first time Daryl lifted his head and met Ricks piercing gaze.

"People talk, sooner or later he'll find out." He muttered, but Rick shook his head.

"Nobody has to know. We can keep it a secret, that way there's no way he could find out." Rick explained and Daryl stared at him in disbelief. Why was Rick willing to risk that for him?

"Ya deserve better than that." He mumbled causing the other guy to roll his eyes.

"This is our last year at school and then we can move away and you won't ever have to see your father again, maybe go to college or something." Rick said and Daryl sighed. If only it was that easy. He doubted he'd ever be able to get away from his family and no way would he be able to afford college, let alone afford to move across the country. "Do you want to go to college?" Rick asked, noticing his slight hesitation.

"Nah." Daryl replied, shaking his head, although he wasn't entirely sure that was true. There were a lot of mechanic degrees that he'd seen in flyers and pamphlets around school, but he never thought he'd ever be able to go so he never thought much of it.

"You're a bad liar." Rick chuckled and Daryl smiled softly as he fiddled with his hands in his lap. "I like that thought."

"What do ya want to do after school?" Daryl asked, trying to get the conversation away from his future as he looked over at Rick noticing how beautiful the man looked smiling into the moonlight beside him.

"Shane and I have always had this plan ever since we were little. We'd go to college, get degrees in forensic science and then join the Police Academy and become Deputies at the King County Sheriffs Department." Rick explained with a bright smile and Daryl liked how passionately Rick spoke about his future and how excited he seemed about it.

"You and Shane close?" He asked curiously and Rick nodded.

"Been best friends since we were babies, our mothers are best friends... he's like a brother to me. But, I know he can seem like a bit of a dick sometimes. Like the other day when Maggie's car broke down, but he's a good guy when he's not around the other jocks." Rick explained and Daryl nodded. He understood how Shane would feel like a brother to him because Glenn and Maggie felt more like family then his actual family was and he'd only been friends with them for a couple of years.

The two of them sat there for nearly an hour just talking. Rick mainly talked while Daryl asked a few questions, but he liked it like that. He enjoyed listening to the mans voice as he spoke about school, his family and past memories or how he'd complain about class or something stupid Shane had done and Daryl found himself laughing and smiling more often than not while he spoke.

By the time the two of them walked back to Dale's house it was past midnight and Daryl felt bad for keeping Rick out this late, but the other guy didn't seem to mind as they walked towards the garage.

"I'd like to do this again, maybe try that date at Squeals next weekend as 'friends'?" Rick suggested using air quotes as he said 'friends' causing Daryl to chuckle as they reached the garage and he turned around to look at Rick.

"I'd ever shower 'n show up. How 'bout that?" He asked and Rick face broke out into a bright smile as he nodded in agreement, but neither of them said anything for a moment as they stared at each other.

Slowly Rick took a few steps forward, lifting his hand as he gently brushed a strand of hair out of Daryl's face noticing the other guy glancing down at his lips before meeting his eyes.

Rick took that as his chance as he leant forward, giving Daryl time to pull away if he was reading the situation wrong. But, Daryl never pulled away and to Rick's surprise Daryl moved forward and their lips crashed together, stunning him slightly before his brain actually clicked into action and he began to kiss the other man back for a few seconds before they pulled away.

"I wouldn't mind doing that again." Rick admitted, his hand cupping the side of Daryl's face as he spoke taking in just how breathtaking the guy actually way.

"Then do it." Daryl whispered and that was all he needed to say before Rick leant forward and kissed him, his free hand grabbing the back of Daryl's neck to deepen the kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the later update, but I hope you are all still enjoying this fic. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below, but until next time stay safe everyone and have a great day xx


	5. Chapter 5

***Present***

Daryl ended up sleeping on the old foldout couch in the garage just like the old days. It didn't feel right going inside the house to sleep, not when Dale wasn't there. He worked on the Ford Mustang for most the afternoon after Rick left, but he couldn't get the other man out of his head. How the hell had Rick gotten more attractive with age? It shouldn't work like that, but it had and it was driving him crazy.

The following morning he was up with the sun and continued working on the car until he had to clean himself up and go meet with the attorney Andrea Harrison, but for some reason he was nervous.

Daryl wasn't usually one to get nervous, but the thought of seeing Rick again after he awkwardly left the garage yesterday just made Daryl nervous. The guy was married with kids, but it was clear it shook Rick slightly when he saw him at Dales after all those years apart, hell, it shook him too.

He walked through the front door of the attorneys office, instantly spotting Rick sitting on one of the chairs in the waiting area, but before he could even take a step further into the room, a door to their left open and blonde woman stepped out.

"Mr Grimes and Mr Dixon?" She called out glancing between Rick and Daryl because they were the only ones in the room and Rick just nodded, standing up and walking over to her and Daryl quickly snapped into action and followed him.

"Rick Grimes." He said, holding his hand out to the woman who smiled and shook it.

"Andrea Harrison. And you must be Daryl Dixon?" Andrea asked, turning her attention towards him and Daryl nodded, holding his hand out as they shook hands before she held the door open and motioned for them to walk in.

Daryl stayed back letting Rick walk in first before Daryl followed, nodding his thanks to Andrea before he glanced around the room, checking his surroundings before he sat down on the chair beside Rick. Andrea quietly closed the door behind them before she sat down on the chair behind her desk, sitting opposite them.

Daryl could feel Rick looking over at him, but he didn't dare look over at the other man as he focused on Andrea, knowing that if he looked over at Rick, he'd be done for. They just needed to get this over with for Dale's sake and then he and Rick could talk about all the shit that happened 21 years ago.

"Now first thing that Dale Horvath, asked was for me to apologise on his behalf for any inconvenience. He asked that I pass on his gratitude for your being here and your friendship always. His words." Andrea began to say and Daryl smiled softly, that was definitely something Dale would say.

"He would like you to spread his ashes together outside his cabin up north. There is to be no funeral, no reception or store-bought bouquets. Not a dime is to be spent on frivolities. Again..." Andrea began to say.

"His words." Rick and Daryl both spoke up causing Andrea to chuckle softly and nodded.

"He asks that you pack up his things and he would like you to go through it, and take whatever you want. He left instructions that his assets be liquidated and that the proceeds be donated to the American Paediatric Cancer Society." Andrea explained and Daryl didn't miss how Rick's body suddenly tensed, but he couldn't figure out why.

"The only asset not to be sold is the cabin, which he left to you both." She continued causing Daryl to frown as he spared a glance towards Rick who met his gaze for a brief second before looking back towards Andrea.

"Now, typically, in situations like this, one party will buy the other out, unless you're interested in joint ownership." Andrea suggested, but they both quickly shook their heads looking back at each other.

"Uh.. No." Rick stuttered, not really knowing how he should answer that.

"We're not-" Daryl added, having the same problem as Rick before Andrea just nodded in understanding and continued.

"When he was in the hospital, he wrote these." She explained, handing them both a letter each and Daryl smiled sadly recognising Dales scribble handwriting on the front as Rick began to open his own letter. "Sorry. He would like you to read them on your own." Andrea informed and Rick instantly stopped with a nod as he put the letter in his lap while Daryl folded his and tucked it in the pocket on the inside of his vest.

Andrea talked for a few minutes and asked if either of them had any questions, but they both just shook their heads and she gave them the urn of Dales ashes before they left the office. Neither of them said anything until they walked out the building and began walking down the street in the direction of their cars.

"You still live around here?" Rick asked, breaking the awkward silence between them as they slowly followed the footpath down the main street. Their silence never used to be awkward, it was always comfortable, but a lot of things had changed, not just their looks. They had whole different lives now, lives that didn't include each other.

"Nah." Daryl muttered, but he didn't elaborate any further, not wanting Rick to know that he'd just been living in a trailer on the outskirts of the woods. Rick didn't need to know that, but it wasn't that Daryl didn't like his trailer. He actually quite liked it, it was small, but it had everything he needed and it was quiet. But, he knew how bad it sounded, so he didn't go into details.

Rick looked over at him for a few seconds, waiting to see if the other man would continue talking, but Rick quickly realised that after 20 years he was still the silent type, which Rick liked. He was glad that Daryl was still the same... well, he wasn't the same. A lot had changed in him over the years and Rick figured jail had been a big part of that.

He watched Daryl for a few seconds while the man fished for his keys out the front pocket of his jeans and although a lot had changed Rick still found the man drop dead gorgeous. His hair was darker and longer, covering half his face. His arms were still dense with muscle, more muscle than what he had when they were teenagers and he still wore the same style clothing and that leather vest. But, Rick did notice a thick scar that ran over Daryl's left eye.

He didn't spot it yesterday, probably because he was too focused on the fact that Daryl was actually there, but sitting beside him at the attorneys he saw it. The scar cuts through his left eyebrow, narrowly missing his eye and starts again directly below his eye for a few centimetres down his cheek.

He wondered how Daryl got it, whether it was during his time in jail and he pissed off the wrong person or if it happened after somehow. But, Rick couldn't figure out what it would be from and he hated that Daryl had to go through more pain and scars, the man had too many of them as it was, he didn't deserve that.

Daryl never said anything else until he stopped in front of his truck that was parked on the side of the road, Rick's BMW parked a little further down the street. But, Daryl still didn't say anything as he stood beside his truck, staring at the keys in his hands and Rick sighed, taking the hint.

"I get it, we're not here for a reunion. We're here for Dale, so... how about this? You go to the house today and I'll go there tomorrow, and we'll meet out at the cabin tomorrow afternoon, we'll say our goodbyes to him. Does that work for you?" Rick asked, sensing that Daryl didn't really want to hang around to chat, which was fair enough. It's been 20 years, he's probably moved on with his life just like Rick had... although now that he thought about it, maybe he hadn't moved on as much as he thought. Damn it, why did Daryl still have to look so good with that same if not more gruffer sexy southern accent?

"Yeah." Daryl nodded, glancing up to meet his gaze and there was something almost apologetic in his eyes, but Rick didn't really know what to make of it, so he just nodded and began to head down the street towards his own car.

"Rick." Daryl called out and Rick quickly stopped and turned around to find the other guy biting his thumb nail as he still stood beside his truck.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." He apologised and Rick just stared at him for a moment trying to figure out why he was apologising until his mind suddenly clicked and he sighed.

"I know." Rick replied, trying to give Daryl a reassuring smile and the man just nodded before he climbed into the truck as Rick turned around and continued walking.

-

When Rick got back to his mothers house, she had already left for her afternoon tea with Shane's mother, something the two of them did every week and Rick was relieved they still did, because he needed some time alone to just sit and think.

He parked his car in the driveway and made his way into the house, climbing up the all too familiar stairs before walking into his old bedroom where his duffle bag was lying on the floor full of spare clothes and the things he packed for the weekend.

He took a quick shower, not really needing to, but he wanted to freshen himself up after sitting there and sweating during the entire meeting with Andrea and Daryl.

After his shower he pulled Dale's letter from his jeans pocket and made his way out onto the small balcony outside his bedroom, leaning his elbow against the railing as he unfolded the paper and began to read it.

_'...You remember that thistle problem I had in the garden last year. Thistle is one tough weed. You can't pull it or mow it. You have to dig it out by the root. While I was digging, I got thinking about you and Daryl. You have wounds that have never healed. You've lived with them so long, you don't even know they're there anymore. Pain has deep roots. The only way to dig it out is to forgive him, and forgive yourself...'_

Rick sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he took a deep breath. It was hard to read the last words Dale had written him, but what made it harder was that Dale was right, like always. Dale was right and Rick knew it.

-

***20 Years Ago***

"Don't ya get bored out here?" Daryl questioned, pushing himself out from under the front of the car as he sat up to find Rick still sitting in his usual spot on the stool by the work bench while Daryl worked on the Impala that Dale now had in the garage.

"Completely." Rick chuckled causing Daryl to snort as he pulled the rag out his pocket and began wiping the grease from his fingers.

Him and Rick had been seeing each other for a couple weeks now, nobody knew except Glenn and Maggie. Rick wanted to tell Shane, but as much as he loved his best friend, he also knew the guy couldn't keep a secret for the life of him and he didn't want to put that pressure on Shane. Although, Dale seemed to know what was going on between them, but he never said anything to them and let them do whatever they wanted to which Daryl was grateful for.

"When are you gonna let me get my hands dirty?" Rick asked, a cheeky grin forming on his face because they both knew Rick wasn't interested in cars at all, but for whatever reason he always came over and watched Daryl work.

"Ya want to get your hands dirty? This dirty?" Daryl teased, holding his hand out towards Rick knowing full well that his hand was still covered in grease and oil and by the way Rick shuffled back on his stool the guy didn't want to get dirty at all.

"No. Daryl, you're not gonna do..." Rick trailed off as Daryl began to walk in his direction and within a split second Rick jumped from his seat and bolted across the garage. Daryl was unable to stop himself from laughing, knowing Rick didn't want to get his light green button-down dirty since his parents had only bought it a few days ago. But, that didn't stop Daryl from chasing him around the garage.

"Daryl, don't you dare!" Rick shouted, but there wasn't any heat behind it as he chased the other guy around the vintage car in the garage before Daryl spotted a familiar black truck coming down Dale's long dirt driveway and his heart beat suddenly skyrocketed.

"Ya gotta leave! Ya gotta get out of here." Daryl quickly shouted and Rick froze at the desperate tone in Daryl's voice as he glanced over his shoulder towards him in confusion.

"What?" Rick asked, but Daryl didn't have time to say anything as he grabbed Rick's arm and began pulling him towards his car that was parked at the front of the garage.

"No, please, just get outta here, now." Daryl instructed, trying to keep his voice calm although he was pretty sure Rick saw right through it and asked who it was, but Daryl didn't answer as he continued to pull Rick towards his car. "Get out of here, please leave!"

"Daryl!" Rick shouted, trying to fight against his grip, but Daryl wouldn't let up as he pushed him towards his car.

"Don't ask any questions. Get out, now!" Daryl yelled, pointing towards his car as he opened the door and began ushering Rick inside.

"Okay. Okay." Rick responded, starting the car as he quickly closed the door, sparing a glance at Daryl before he put the car into gear and took off down the driveway, passing the black truck on the way out.

Daryl turned away once Rick took off, his back facing the black truck as he ran his fingers through hair and took a deep breath trying to calm himself down, but he couldn't.

His father was here, it's been weeks and he hadn't heard a single thing from his family and then he just shows up out of nowhere while Rick was here. That was the one thing Daryl was trying to avoid.

"Time to come home, Daryl." His fathers voice suddenly called out and Daryl turned around to find his father standing by the back his truck while Kyle and Ted began to climb out the back.

Daryl didn't dare say anything, knowing that his answer wouldn't be liked by his old man. So, he just stood there and watched as Will began to walk over to him, his face too concentrated and relaxed for Daryl's liking. He wasn't even drunk and that made Daryl panic, it was worse when he was sober, he was smarter.

"Ya didn't introduce us to your boyfriend." He stated, but Daryl quickly shook his head.

"Ain't my boyfriend." He muttered, lowering his head.

"Good, ain't no blood of mine a fag." Will responded sternly before Ted spoke up from behind him.

"That's that Grime's boy, Pop. I've seen him around." Ted informed and Daryl glared over at his cousin, wanting to knock him out for outing Rick like that, but he knew that was a bad idea, despite how much he wanted to.

"Grimes, huh? Why's some rich kid hanging around with your sorry ass? Ya know what, don't even answer that. Get your stuff and put it in the truck. You're coming home with us." His father ordered, but Daryl didn't make any indication of moving.

"No, I'm not." He stated sternly, standing himself up a bit straighter as his father took a step forward, sudden anger flashing across his face.

"I ain't gonna tell ya again, boy." He growled grabbing the collar of Daryl's shirt as he quickly shrugged his fathers grip off causing the older man to slam his fist into the side of Daryl's face, sending him to the ground and he knew he had a busted lip, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

"I have had it with you, Daryl!" Will shouted, standing above him as he stared down at him with narrow eyes. "Get your stuff, put it in the truck-" He began to order before a gunshot fired from somewhere behind him.

"Touch him again, the next one will kill you." Dale's voice threatened and Daryl quickly glanced over his shoulder from his position on the ground to find Dale walking down the front steps of his house. He had the same lever action rifle in his hands that Daryl had woken up all those days ago.

"Now, I've come here for my boy and I ain't leaving without him, so... I guess you're gonna have to shoot me." His father stated, turning his attention towards the other man.

"Alright." Dale responded, raising the gun and Daryl quickly got to his feet as he watched Dale fire a bullet into the front windscreen of his fathers black truck. "That windshield is gonna cost you about 1,000 dollars and those floods run about 500 each."

Daryl watched in shock as Dale began to fire a few more bullets into the truck, taking out three of his fathers spotlights that were mounted on the roof and he didn't even need to look over at his father to know that he'd be furious.

"Do you want me to keep going?" Dale questioned, looking over at Will who's jaw was clenched as he stared at the man before he nodded towards his nephews indicating for them to get into the truck.

"This is nice. What you've done here." His father began to say, his tone way to calm for Daryl's liking as he leant down towards the bed of tulips, reaching out towards them.

"Your wife plant these?" Will asked when suddenly a bullet pierced straight through the flowers his father was reaching for causing Will to quickly remove his hand as he glared over at Dale before his face broke out into a sickening grin and he climbed into the truck.

Daryl watched in slight relief as the truck reversed out the driveway and disappeared as Dale walked over to him, reloading his rifle.

"If I stay, they'll come back." Daryl spoke up a few seconds later as he glanced over at Dale beside him.

"I just shot up a 17,000 dollar pick-up truck. About broke my heart to do it." He joked and Daryl smiled slightly at the mans words. "They'll be back whether you're here or not. It's not safe for you to sleep out here anymore. I'll fix you a place inside." Dale informed, glancing over at the garage before he began walking back towards his house.

"Well, come on." Dale called out over his shoulder and Daryl quickly jogged after the man, still trying to figure out why he'd want him to still stay let alone let him sleep inside the house.

-

That night Rick laid on his back in his bed, staring up at the ceiling with his bedside lamp on as he thought about what happened today.

Everything was fine, hell, they were even laughing and chasing each other around the garage, but then that truck showed up and Daryl yelled at him leave. Why would he do that? Who was in the truck?

Rick shook his head, rubbing his face with his hands when suddenly a knock on his bedroom door caught his attention, but it wasn't his main door, it was the door to the balcony.

He quickly sat up in confusion, looking over at the glass door but it was dark outside and he couldn't see anything. He grabbing his white t-shirt from the end of his bed and threw it on and half debated whether to put pants on, but figured his boxers were enough as he walked over to the door and frowned in confusion when he spotted Daryl standing outside in the rain.

He rushed towards the door and quickly opened it, a thousand questions running through his head, but didn't get the chance to ask one before Daryl spoke up.

"I had to see ya." He muttered breathlessly and Rick knew he had ran all the way here. His hair was drenched along with his jacket, but what caught his eye was the cut on his lower lip that had clearly been busted open.

"Well, come in." Rick quickly said, not wanting the other guy to be outside in the cold for any longer than necessary, but Daryl shook his head.

"That's not a good idea. I need to talk to ya." He replied and Rick just nodded as he walked out his bedroom, onto the balcony. "Wait, what are ya doin'?" Daryl questioned, watching as Rick closed the door behind himself.

"If you're not gonna come in, then I'll come out with you." He answered, joining him on the balcony as he stared up at the small veranda over the top of the balcony slightly shielding them from the rain before he turned his attention back towards Daryl, his eyes instantly going to his busted lip.

"Who did this to you?" Rick asked, brushing his thumb gently over the cut on his lip, hating the way Daryl flinched at the contact.

"My dad." He muttered and suddenly it clicked. The truck was his father. That's why Daryl wanted him to leave, he didn't want his father seeing him. How did he not think of that?

"Shit." Rick sighed, shaking his head at himself before Daryl continued talking.

"Look, sooner or later, I'm gonna have to pay for what happened today 'n I can't have ya standin' next to me when I do, okay? I can't have ya gettin' hurt." Daryl explained, meeting Rick's gaze as he grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together, needing to small touch of comfort.

"I'm not gonna get hurt." Rick tried to argue, but Daryl cut him off.

"Ya hang around with me long enough 'n ya will." He muttered, but Rick shook his head, cupping the side of Daryl's face with his hand.

"I don't care! I don't care. I mean, Daryl, do you want this? Do you want me?" He asked, staring at the other guy desperately as he rested their foreheads together and Daryl sighed, taking a deep breath.

"I do." He whispered, unable to lie to him.

"Then that's all that matters. Does your father know about us?" Rick asked, cautiously cupping Daryl's face with his hand as he kept their foreheads pressed together, but Daryl shook his head and Rick smiled. "Then that's all that matters. We'll make this work, okay?"

"Okay." Daryl agreed, lifting his hand to gently grab the back of Rick's neck as he pressed their lips together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am still blown away by the support I have been getting for this fic, thank you all so much. This fic has been close to my heart and I am really enjoying writing it. I hope you are all still enjoying this fic and I would love to hear your thoughts below. 
> 
> Anyway, until next time stay safe everyone and have a great day xx


	6. Chapter 6

***Present***

Daryl pulled up in front of Dale's house, but didn't move from the drivers seat of his truck. He just sat there and stared at the house, thinking back to his conversation with Rick after they left the attorneys office. 

Why didn't he just talk to the guy? Rick was trying to make conversation and be nice, but Daryl barely spoke and now Rick probably thinks he hates him or something when in fact it's the total opposite. But, Rick was married, he had a whole family of his own and Daryl didn't want to get in the middle of that, but now... Rick probably hates him.

"God damnit!" He yelled, slamming his hands against the steering wheel in frustration.

He kicked his car door open and climbed out before he began to make his way towards the front door of Dale's house.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled the spare key from his pocket and opened the door. Slowly he walked in and just like the garage nothing had changed in over 20 years. There was still the old hatstand by the front door with Dale's signature bucket hat hanging from the top hook. The same wooden table and chairs set up in the dining room with his usual stripped table cloth. Everything was exactly how Daryl remembered it. 

Daryl smiled sadly to himself as he wandered through the house, hating but also loving how Dale kept everything the same. He wished he would have visited the old man, but he knew that Dale understood why he never stepped foot inside the town since. But he still couldn't stop himself from feeling guilty about only writing the man letters every couple months.

After doing a small sweep of the house, he quickly realised that he was gonna need a lot of newspaper and masking tape in order to wrap and pack up the old mans belongings. So, after one glance around the house he walked back outside, locking the door behind him before climbing into his truck and heading off to the hardware store.

While in the store he picked up the few bolts and parts that he needed to fix the gear box of the Mustang, throwing them the small shopping basket along with a stack of old newspaper and couple rolls of masking tape.

Once satisfied that he had what he needed he made his way over to the cash register and greeted the old woman behind the counter when his eyes caught sight of someone off to the right looking items on a shelf. No fucking way.

"Just give me one second." Daryl quickly said, turning back to the woman who nodded with a smile as Daryl made his way over to the teenager who grabbed a bottle of acid from the shelf.

"Do ya work here?" Daryl asked, catching the young man's attention as he looked over at him, but quickly lowered his head.

"No, Sir. Just picking up some stuff for family friends." The younger man answered causing Daryl to frown slightly because why would the kid need a bottle of acid for family friends?

"Ya look a lot like an old friend of mine." Daryl admitted, taking in the boys appearance and there was no way this kid wasn't the son of Glenn and Maggie. His features and right down to the kids posture was just a splitting image of Glenn when he was that age, hell, the kid even had Maggie's accent. 

"People tell me I look like my dad." The boy explained, looking back over at him and Daryl nodded.

"Glenn Rhee?" He asked and the boys eyes went wide in shock.

"You knew him?" The boy asked, but before Daryl had the chance to respond an all too familiar voice filled the air and his eyes flew over to the front door just in time to see his cousins, Ted and Kyle, walk through the door.

"Goddamn it, Hershel. How many times I gotta tell ya-" Ted's voice shouted before he stopped mid-sentence when he saw Daryl standing there. Ted and Kyle had definitely aged and not like Rick. These two were turning into splitting images of his father and that was not a good thing.

"Well, as I live and breathe, the Prodigal Son returns." Ted announced with a grin showing off his yellow crooked teeth and Daryl looked away from the two of them as he focused on Hershel.

"Mm-mm. Ya might wanna stay away from that shit." Daryl muttered pointing towards the bottle of acid in the boys hands. "Good talkin' to ya." He said, before he walked back towards the front desk and began paying for his supplies, but he could still hear his cousins talking behind him.

"It's been a long time, Daryl! About 20 years?" The two of them called out, but Daryl just ignored them taking the grocery bag along with the bundle of newspapers. He began to head towards the front door before his two cousins stepped to the side and blocked his path.

Daryl sighed, his eyes glancing over at his cousins. He didn't want a fight, he didn't want to make a scene, but to his relief Hershel stepped to the side giving Daryl room to get through.

"Thank you." Daryl nodded before he walked through the gap and left the store. Well, if his father didn't know he was back in town then he sure as hell did now.

By the time he pulled back into Dale's driveways he instantly spotted Rick's car parked in front of the house causing Daryl to frown as he stared at the black car in confusion. Didn't Rick say he was gonna come tomorrow?

He climbed out the truck, grabbing his supplies from the back before he began to walk towards the house, but stopped the second he saw Rick sitting on the porch steps. He was now wearing a light brown button-down shirt tucked neatly into his jeans and smiled nervously at Daryl.

"Thought maybe you needed a hand." Rick spoke up, standing up from the steps as he nodded towards the house and Daryl couldn't help the small sigh of relief that escaped his lips.

"I'd like that." Daryl replied softly causing Rick to smile happily before Daryl walked past him and unlocked the front door as they both walked in. He gave Rick a few minutes alone, letting him walk around Dale's house and take everything in while he unloaded the supplies on the kitchen table, getting the newspaper and masking tape out.

Neither of them really spoke as they began to wrap Dale's belongings in newspaper before tucking them away in cardboard boxes. But for once the silence wasn't awkward as they both worked on opposite ends of the house to save time.

Daryl finished wrapping up all the books Dale had on his bookshelf in his room before his eyes caught sight of an old black and white photo of Dale and his late wife. He grabbed it from bookshelf, staring at it for a few seconds before he made his way into the kitchen were Rick was currently wrapping up various plates and glass cups.

"Hey, though ya might want this." He called out turning the photo around so Rick could see and he smiled sadly when he saw the photo.

"You can take it." Rick responded as he finished wrapping the last plate before putting it inside the carboard box he had set up on one of the chairs.

"I just didn't want to pack things away if ya might wanna keep 'em." Daryl shrugged, leaning back against the wall, biting his lip as he watched Rick tape the cardboard box shut before getting another one.

"It's okay, I don't want much. I'll make my own box." Rick answered and Daryl nodded as he turned around to walk away before he stopped and turned back towards Rick, trying to figure out how to word what he wanted to say.

"Is there something you want to say?" Rick asked, bringing Daryl from his thoughts and he realised that he had been just staring at the other man for a little too long and Daryl quickly ducked his head with a small shake.

"I guess I just wanna know if you're happy." He muttered, looking up to find Rick had stopped what he was doing and now looking over at him with an unreadable expression.

"You want facts?" Rick chuckled, looking over at him and Daryl wasn't really sure how to respond as he continued looking at the other man before he continued.

"I moved to King Country and got a degree in forensic science, as planned. Got my girlfriend pregnant during my final year at collage, not planned. Got married, bought a small house on the outskirts of King County. Had another child. Did some volunteer work around the community. Bought a bigger house." Rick explained with a shrug as he opened the next cupboard in the kitchen and began wrapping up the coffee mugs in newspaper.

"Police Force?" Daryl asked, leaning back against the wall.

"I never finished the Police Academy. Had to drop out and get a job to support my family." Rick answered honestly, laughing softly at himself as he shook his head. "I had so many plans and I don't know what happened."

"Life?"

"I guess. Anyway, am I happy? Being a father makes me happy." Rick responded, glancing over at Daryl before something caught his eye on the wall behind him and by the sudden shocked and almost sad look on the mans face Daryl quickly turned around. He frowned in confusion, trying to find the source of Rick's sudden mood change when his eyes caught sight of another framed photo hanging on the wall.

It was of Rick and Dale, both of them sitting on the front porch of the house, but Dale was holding a baby girl in his arms while Rick sat beside him smiling proudly.

Daryl put the photo he was currently holding down on the table as he grabbed the other off the wall and walked it over to Rick who still stood frozen to the spot before he slowly took the photo.

"I-I forgot he had this." Rick whispered, staring down at the photo in his hands, but Daryl couldn't figure out why Rick almost seemed sad about finding the photo of his daughter and Dale.

-

***20 Years Ago***

"How do you even know what you're tracking. All I see is dirt." Rick whispered from behind him as they slowly trekked through the woods. His eyes glancing back and forth from watching Daryl move across the forest terrain to actually looking at the ground so he didn't trip and make a fool of himself, which may have happened once or twice before. 

"Years of practice. Now shut up, you're scaring away the game." Daryl muttered, glancing over his shoulder towards Rick who just rolled his eyes before he turned back and continued following the fresh tracks of a deer.

It's been a while since he's came across fresh deer tracks in these woods, so he didn't really want to kill it, but he doubted Rick had ever seen a deer up close before so he was determined to track it down.

They walked for a few more minutes before Daryl quickly came to a holt when he spotted the deer in the distance. Rick walked straight into the back of him, causing him to stumble forward a few steps before Rick grabbed his shoulders to stop him from falling over.

"Sorry. My bad." Rick whispered as Daryl glared over his shoulder at his boyfriend before he adjusted the strap of his crossbow on his back and pointed towards the deer in the distance.

He watched as Rick looked up and he could pinpoint the exact moment he spotted the dear as his jaw dropped and eyes widen as he took in the beautiful creature. Daryl smiled watching Rick's reaction before he looked back over to the deer himself and scanned his surroundings.

"C'mon, we can get closer." Daryl whispered, his accent thick as he spoke and Rick simply nodded and he followed closely behind as Daryl slowly made his way towards the deer, keeping a tree between them and deer's head at all time so it couldn't see them.

It took a while, the two of them moving as slow as honey trickly off a spoon, but Daryl eventually stopped behind a fallen tree only 10 meters away from the deer as he crouched down. Rick copied his movements and knelt down beside him, his eyes completely focused on the deer right in front of them.

Daryl eyed the deer carefully watching the elegant doe eat the tall green grass before a young fawn suddenly poked it's head up from amongst the grass by its mother and began to pounce over the tall grass around its mothers feet. Daryl was unable to stop the small smile forming on his face, happy that these animals were starting to come back to the woods and breed after going years without seeing any.

"You're not going to shoot her, are you?" Rick asked and Daryl could hear the slight hesitation in the other guys voice and he knew Rick didn't want him to shoot it, especially not when she had a young fawn.

"Nah, all we need is some squirrels or somethin'." Daryl answered softly and he saw Rick visible relax from beside him. They sat there for a few more minutes watching the two animals before they silently snuck off, leaving them be as Daryl pulled his crossbow from his shoulders and began hunting for squirrel.

Within half an hour he had four squirrels tied to a rope and slung over his shoulder and decided to call it a day and began to head back towards Dale's house.

"Who taught you how to shoot that thing? You're really good." Rick commented pointing towards the crossbow still in Daryl's hands as they walked side by side.

"My brother, Merle."

"Didn't know you had a brother, he still live around here?" Rick asked, curiously but Daryl shook his head.

"Nah, joined the army." He answered before he pointed towards another squirrel sitting on a tree branch as he held the crossbow out to Rick who hesitantly took it.

"You sure this is a good idea?" He asked taking the crossbow and pressed the butt of the weapon into his shoulder tightly like Daryl had showed him many times before.

"Yeah." The another guy muttered as he walked around Rick until he was standing behind the him and gently wrapped his arms around Ricks body and raised the crossbow, holding it in the right position for him. "Just gotta aim that sight through it's lungs and squeeze the trigger." He instructed his breath tickling down Rick's neck before he took a step back to let Rick take him.

He watched as the guy took a deep breath before he slowly squeezed the trigger and stagged back a few steps not used to the recoil of the crossbow as the bolt hit the tree branch directly below the squirrel causing the animal to scurry away in a flash.

"Told you this wasn't a good idea." Rick chuckled, immediately handing the crossbow back in embarrassment and Daryl took the weapon, throwing it over his shoulder as he shook his head.

"Just practice is all. Couldn't hit a thing when I first started, Merle used to make fun of me for it." Daryl muttered, walking over to the tree as he pulled the bolt out from the branch, but the carbon shaft had been snapped and he knew that bolt was useless.

"And you're not going to make fun of me?" Rick asked, reaching his side as he wrapped his arms around the other guys shoulders, happy that Daryl leant back into his touch instead of flinching away like he used to.

"Nah, but ya gonna help me cook tonight since ya broke a bolt." He responded holding the bent bolt up in his hands for Rick to see as the other man buried his face in the crook of Daryl's neck in shame before Daryl turned his head slightly and kissed the top of Rick's head. "I got spares, can make more anyway if I need to." He reassured, but Rick didn't say anything further as he began to trace soft gentle kisses down Daryl's neck.

"C'mon ain't gonna be back in time to make tea for Dale if we keep doing this." Rick mumbled against before he pulled away causing Daryl to whine softly at the loss of contact. Rick grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together and began pulling Daryl back in the direction of Dale's house.

"You're a fuckin' tease, ya know that?" Daryl muttered, before pulling Rick back in the right direction because the guy would've led them further into the woods instead of towards Dale's house.

By the time Dale's house came into view through the dense trees of the forest Rick had bought the topic of college up again. It wasn't the first time he had bought it up and Daryl didn't mind. He didn't think he'd ever get in, no Dixon had ever finished high school let alone gone to college. But, he'd like to get some kind of mechanical degree and be able to prove his father wrong, but he'd never admit that.

"So if you're not going to college, then why do you study so much? Huh? Don't think I don't notice you around school always in the library or studying with Glenn and Maggie. Why? Oh, I know why, because you _are_ going to college, you'll definitely get in. You'll probably get a scholarship." Rick rambled to himself causing Daryl to scoff, rolling his eyes at the other man as they continued to walk hand in hand towards the house.

"I printed out your college applications yesterday, have you even looked at them yet?" He asked, glancing over at Daryl who nodded.

"But there's a problem. They want a home address." He explained as the two of them walked past the garage towards the house.

"You live with Dale, why don't you ask him?" Rick asked, motioning towards the house, but Daryl quickly shook his head, adjusting the strap of squirrels and his crossbow over his shoulder.

"No, don't ask Dale, please." Daryl replied causing Rick to frown at him in confusion. "He's private, he won't like ya snoppin' around 'n stuff... Rick." Daryl called out as Rick let go of his hand and jogged up the steps towards the house and walked in causing Daryl to groan in annoyance before he followed the other guy inside.

"Dale?" Rick called, walking into the house before he spotted the old man sitting on his usual chair in front of the television. "Can I ask you a couple questions?" Rick asked, walking into the room and taking a seat on the other chair.

"Okay." Dale said, nodding towards Rick who he had been used to seeing around for the past few months. Dale never had a problem with Rick coming over, he was used to seeing him hanging around the garage and chilling in the spare room of his house that was now Daryl's room.

"Do you have an onion?" Rick asked, just as Daryl walked into the room, but stopped in the doorway and watched the two of them as Dale nodded. "Good, because we forgot to check and Daryl needs one to cook. Second thing, we were just going over Daryl's college applications and we were wondering, can we use your address as his home address?"

"That'll be fine." Dale answered, glancing over at Daryl before looking back towards Rick who smiled happily.

"Great. We'll have tea ready at six." Rick responded, standing up and walking out the room as Daryl followed him to the kitchen. Daryl usually cooked tea every Friday night to try help Dale out, but this time Rick was staying over for the afternoon and wanted to join in.

"Gotta skin and gut these squirrels outside." Daryl said, throwing his crossbow onto his bed as he walked past his room before joining Rick in the kitchen to find him already getting the right ingredients out the cupboard for stew.

"I'll get the veggies ready, do you have potatoes in your stew?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder and Daryl nodded as Rick began to hunt around the pantry for potatoes before Daryl walked out the backdoor, not wanting to get blood on the floor or stink up the house. 

By the time he came back into the house with a plastic bag full of freshly cut squirrel meat Rick already had the pot ready on the stove and Daryl put the meat in to let it boil as Dale walked into the kitchen with a bundle of tulips in his hands.

"Those were beautiful." Rick commented, looking over at Dale as he began to fill a vase up with water from the sink.

"Yeah, they came in real good this year. It was a wet spring. These are my wife's favourite." Dale commented, shocking Daryl slightly because he had never heard the man talk about his late wife before, but he'd seen photos of her around the house and one in the garage that sat on the work bench.

"How long were y'all married?" Rick asked causing Dale to smile slightly as he began to put the flowers in the vase.

"We're still married. We're just on different schedules." Dale explained causing Rick and Daryl to both smile as Dale wandered back into the lounge room, leaving the teenagers to finish cooking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slowly things about their past is coming to the surface, I promise soon you'll find out more about their past and why things turned out the way it did because I know a lot of you are curious. 
> 
> I hope you are all still enjoying this fic, I would love to hear your thoughts about it below, but until next time stay safe everyone and have a great day xx


	7. Chapter 7

***20 Years Ago* **

That night Daryl and Rick set up a small table outside on the front porch of the house. Covering it with one of Dale's checked table clothes and small candle light in the middle along with the bowls of stew and fresh bread.

It was a nice night and they figured they might as well enjoy the cool weather before it started to get scorching hot in a couple of months.

Daryl grabbed a couple cans of soda and a bottle of beer from the fridge and he walked back outside to find Rick and Dale already sitting down around the table as he handed them the drinks.

"You boys didn't have to do all this." Dale said, motioning towards the table in front of him with a small smile forming on his face, but Rick shook his head.

"You've done a lot for Daryl and for me, it's the least we could do." Rick responded, cracking open his can of coke as Daryl glanced between the two of them for a few seconds. Daryl could tell the older man wanted to say something, but obviously wasn't sure if he should or how to word it and suddenly Daryl started to get nervous.

"This is none of my business and I don't care either way, but are the two of you... Are you guys together?" He asked causing Rick to nearly choke on his drink as he coughed a few times, his eyes glancing over at Daryl who was sitting across from him with a slightly panicked expression before he cleared his throat.

"Yeah, we are." Daryl answered, his tone slightly defensive as he turned towards Dale who just nodded and cracked open his beer and took a sip.

"Good, you boys are good together. Was wondering how long it take for you guys to get together. Glad you already are." The older man admitted, shocking the two of them slightly and Daryl felt himself starting to relax as he leant back in chair and looked over at Rick who smiled at him, relief evident in his expression before they all began to eat.

10 minutes later they had all finished eating and just sat around the table, talking about anything and everything as they enjoyed the peaceful night.

"I'm just saying, when two cars break down on consecutive days, that bring two people together, that's destiny." Rick declared, leaning forward on his elbows towards Daryl who just rolled his eyes at the other guy. Yes, Maggie's car broke down and the next day, Rick's car wouldn't start at school, but that's just a coincidence. 

"Destiny? No, destiny is the name the fortunate give to their fortunes." Daryl argued, leaning forward in his chair as well.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Rick asked in confusion causing Daryl to scoff.

"That means that people never call bad things destiny." He responded and now it was Rick who scoffed as he leant back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You are absolutely impossible. Dale, please help me out here." Rick begged turning around to the older man who was sitting back in his chair watching the two of them in amusement. "What do you think?"

"I never did believe in that stuff. But, I will tell you one thing. Back in the war, I was in the Navy, I'm serving aboard a destroyer when we took a Jap torpedo. Blew me right off the deck. Broke my back. There I am bobbing around in the water like a fishing cork, all hell breaking loose around me and I..." Dale began to say trailing off slightly as Rick and Daryl both stared at him in shock before he continued.

"I started singing this old Irving Berlin song; _'What'll I do with just a photograph to tell my troubles to? What'll I do? What'll I do_?'" Dale sang with a soft chuckle causing Rick and Daryl to smile softly. "Well, after a few verses of this, this calm just came over me and I knew right then I was gonna be alright. That I was gonna go home, that I was gonna hold my wife again." He paused for a few seconds a faint smile tracing his lips as he thought about that memory.

"Well, a few years pass by, we built that little cabin up north and I walked outside one day and Clara was out there in the garden singing; _'What'll I do_?' Now, she saw the look on my face and so I told her the story and then she told me hers. It seems like right about that same time, she had a dream where I was singing to her. You care to take a guess at the name of the song?" Dale asked, glancing between the two of them as they both stared at the older man in disbelief.

"No way." Rick whispered causing Dale to chuckle.

"Well, now, I don't know exactly what you'd call that, but... whatever you call it, it got me home." He responded, taking another sip of his beer as Daryl looked over at Rick to find the man still looking at Dale in shock.

-

***Present***

"Daryl?" Rick called out in an uncertain tone from the kitchen and Daryl immediately put down the statue he was wrapping and turned to leave the room before Rick appeared in the doorway to Dale's bedroom holding the photo frame to his chest.

"I need to tell you something." He said seriously and Daryl nodded, instantly knowing that whatever he was going to say was serious.

Rick began to walk into the room, taking a seat on the edge of Dale's bed motioning for Daryl to do the same and he sat down on the bed beside him. He left a little bit of space between the two of them as Rick rested the photo of himself, Dale and his daughter.

"Carl was my first child. Me and Lori were young, probably not ready to have kids yet, but I don't regret it for a second. Then, nine years after Carl was born, Lori and I had another child. A wonderful little girl. She was so full of joy and Dale loved her..." Rick trailed off, looking over at Daryl beside him and suddenly Daryl had a sinking feeling in his heart that this story wasn't going to have a happy ending.

"She was diagnosed with leukemia a few weeks after that picture was taken. She just turned two." Rick explained with a sad smile and Daryl dropped his head, feeling tears beginning to rise in his eyes hearing Rick talk about his baby girl. How the hell do you live with something like that? How would you ever move on?

"And I remember that day. You know, it was just a day. And you want so much to go back to just a... not-so-special day like that, you know? But, you never can." Rick sighed, emotion thick in his voice and Daryl glanced over at him to find his eyes laced with tears.

"I-I can't imagine how difficult that must have been for you and your family." Daryl finally said, shaking his head as he kept his eyes on Rick who quickly wiped the tears from his eyes.

"We both started drinking too much. I quit and she slowed down, but always has a glass every night and goes out with her friends too much, but it's her way of coping I guess." Rick explained, shrugging his shoulders and Daryl sighed.

"I wish I'd have been there for ya." He mumbled, not really knowing what else to say as he looked back towards Rick who slowly shook his head.

"Well, that didn't happen. It's life." He sighed and Daryl rubbed his face with his hands, hating himself even more for what happened all those years ago. Hating how Rick had to go through something like this and he wasn't even there for him.

"What was her name?"

"Judith. Carl named her after his third grade teacher." Rick answered and Daryl smiled softly.

"Your kid actually liked his teachers?" He asked and Rick nodded with a soft chuckle. "Remember our third grade teacher? Mr Daniels? He was one stuck up prick, forced me to pick up rubbish during lunch for a whole week because I fell asleep during class." He muttered in annoyance, but the second Rick began to laugh his face broke out in a slight smile.

"I remember that. Shane got in trouble for laughing when it happened and had to stay back after school to scrape gum off from under the desks." Rick chuckled, causing Daryl to snort, not aware of that little detail, but that made the story a hell of a lot funnier and almost made all those lunch times worth it.

"Do ya wanna stay here for tea? Ain't got nothin' else to do, but pack all this up." Daryl offered a few seconds later motioning towards all the boxes stacked up along the wall of the room and Rick nodded.

"I'd like that."

-

Daryl stood over Dale's stove, stirring the stew that was nearly ready, adding a sprinkle of salt and pepper while Rick sat on the kitchen bench behind him drinking a glass of red wine.

"You hunt that meat or buy it?" Rick questioned from behind him as Daryl glanced over his shoulder.

"Bought it. 20 years later, I learn that it's easier to go to the store than hunt in the woods." He joked causing Rick to chuckle softly, but he didn't tell him that he still hunted for most his meat back in the woods around his trailer, Rick didn't need to know that.

"I'll go set up the table outside." Rick said, grabbing the table cloth and cutlery before walking out the front door to the small table that was still set up on the front porch while Daryl began to pour the stew into bowls.

A few minutes later the two of them were sitting in their usual seats on the table outside. Both of them eating the stew while Rick asked him what he did for a living. Daryl just said that he works for a logging company in North Carolina, not bothering to mention how the company just folded because of the accident or how he was now between jobs.

"Does it ever get lonely out there?" Rick asked, taking a sip from his wine, looking over at Daryl across the table.

"I mean, are ya askin' me if I'm single?" Daryl questioned, raising his eyebrows at the man causing Rick to raise his eyebrows back.

"Are you?" Rick asked again causing Daryl to chuckle as he nodded, knowing there was no reason to lie to him. "You ever been in love?" Rick questioned causing Daryl to stare at him for a few seconds wondering just how many glasses of wine he's had.

"With you." Daryl answered, reaching for his glass and taking another drink as Rick stared at him in shock.

"That was 20 years ago."

"21." Daryl muttered, into his glass as he looked away from the other man and focused on the glass of wine in his hands. "Well, what do ya want me to say? Ya set a high bar."

"Seriously? Are you saying that I'm the reason that you're alone?" Rick questioned and Daryl just shrugged. He never really thought about it like that. Truth be told, he never really looked at anyone else after Rick, never even wanted anyone else.

"Don't ask questions if ya don't wanna know the answer." He muttered causing Rick to just roll his eyes.

"That's ridiculous. I mean, honest to God..." Rick trailed off as he looked over at Daryl who began to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Dunno. Guess I just... I miss this. I miss ya getting' all mad at me." Daryl admitted causing Rick to smile as he leant forward on the table before he realised what he was doing and quickly leant back in his chair.

"I should go. This is dangerous. We've had wine... and somehow you have gotten better looking which is annoying." Rick stated, picking up the now empty bowls from the table as he began to walk back inside. "Couldn't you have gotten bald or fat or something? Jesus!" Rick shouted over his shoulder causing Daryl to snort as he watched Rick disappear inside before he grabbed the glasses of wine and followed him to help with the dishes.

Once they finished the dishes Daryl walked Rick outside to his car that was still parked in front of the house.

"Ya know, it kinda seems a little stupid to take two cars to the cabin tomorrow." Daryl spoke up as the walked down the porch steps towards Rick BMW.

"That's a fair point. I could meet you here tomorrow at nine?" Rick suggested and Daryl nodded in agreement before they fell into silence as Rick contemplated whether to say what he was thinking or not.

"I have a confession to make." Rick abruptly said, catching Daryl off-guard slightly, but he nodded waiting for Rick to continue. "It wasn't destiny when my car broke down at school. I disconnected the battery myself so you could save me." Rick admitted, looking over at Daryl sheepishly.

"I know." Daryl replied, his lips twitching up in a slight smile as Rick's eyes widen in shock. "I know. I knew the minute I saw your battery line yanked out." He explained thinking back to that afternoon at school.

"Oh my God." Rick mumbled, covering his face with his hands in embarrassment as they stopped walking. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"How often is a Dixon the hero of the story?" Daryl asked, raising his eyebrows at the other man who just chuckled as he took a step towards him slowly. Neither of them said anything after that as they stared at each other for a few seconds, Daryl letting his eyes cast down to Rick's lips for a split second before locking with his eyes again. He couldn't kiss the man, he had a wife, he had a family, he couldn't get in the middle of that.

He began to take a step back, knowing he wouldn't be able to control himself much longer, but before he could even move a muscle Rick's lips suddenly collided with his. It took him a second to realise that Rick Grimes had just kissed him, before he began to kiss the man back.

Rick lifted his hand, resting it over Daryl's chest as he continued to kiss him tenderly before he suddenly pulled back, seeming shock and confused as to why he just kissed him. He quickly dropped his head, letting his hand fall from Daryl's chest and avoiding the mans eyes before he began to walk to his car, not saying anything as he climbed in and drove off.

-

***20 Years Ago***

Daryl had just finished packing the back of Dale's truck when Rick's familiar car came up the driveway. He waved at him as he closed the tailgate and watched as Rick pulled up beside the truck and climbed out the car with a bright smile on his face.

"Where are you off to?" Rick asked curiously, glancing at all the tools and bags that he had just strapped down in the back of the truck.

"I gotta go up to Dale's cabin. He's been puttin' it off for weeks 'n now his back's out, he's worried 'bout the garden. M'sorry, I won't be around this weekend." He apologised, but Rick just smiled and shook his head as he raised his hand and cupped the side of Daryl's face.

"That's okay. You go take care of Dale's garden. I need to study for my History test anyway." He replied as he leant forward and gently pressed his lips to his and Daryl kissed him back.

"Wish I could stay back 'n help ya study." Daryl mumbled as he pulled away slightly causing Rick to chuckle.

"Me too, but Dale _needs_ you. I just _want_ you. Now, go fix the mans garden, but don't wreck it." Rick teased, pressing another kiss to his lips before he began to walk back towards his car causing Daryl to chuckle.

-

It took a couple hours, but he eventually pulled up to Dale's holiday cabin. It was fairly isolated with the nearest neighbour miles down the road and had a large lake right out the back door. Daryl had only been there once before when Dale had taken him to help him with the garden, but now Dale had hurt his back, it was up to Daryl to look after the mans precious garden that his wife helped him plant.

He grabbed his duffle bag from the back and unlocked the house, taking in the fresh oaky sent of the wooden cabin as he glanced around, making sure everything was in order before he dropped his bag on the table.

He shrugged off his vest and grabbed the set of gardening gloves from the bag and a shovel from the back of the truck before he walked out the back door towards the garden and froze when he took in how many weeds and dead plants were covering the area.

"Typical." He muttered to himself as he surveyed the area before decided to just start from the left and pull out the weeds and just work his way across. 

He forgot how hard those weeds were to pull out and ended up hacking away at a few of the larger ones with a machete to get the damn things out.

It took him all afternoon to finish the garden, his body just covered in dirt and sweat as he made his way over to the lake. He pulled of his tank top, jeans and boots, leaving them on the small wooden dock that lead out onto the lake before he jumped in, enjoying the cool refreshing water.

He stayed in the lake until the sun disappeared before he decided to head back into the house to find something for tea.

After grabbing a towel from the bathroom and stripping of his now drenched boxers, he wrapped the towel around his waist and began making his way out the bathroom when he heard a door creak down the hallway and he froze. No, he had to be hearing things. He was alone. There wasn't anybody else in here, how could a door just creak?

Suddenly, his brain clicked and his blood ran cold. His father. His father might have followed him here, but how? Surely he would have noticed if someone was following.

He silently walked down the hallway, grabbing his crossbow from the table in the main room before he quietly made his way back down the hallway towards his bedroom, noticing the door was now open slightly.

His heart was beating out his chest as he stepped closer before he slowly pushed the door open. He was about to raise the crossbow before he spotted Rick sitting on the edge of his bed with a red towel wrapped around his body that Daryl was pretty sure was naked underneath.

"I got bored studying." Rick spoke up with an almost guilty look on his face as he stared at Daryl who couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped his lips as he dropped the crossbow in relief. "Were you expecting trouble?" Rick asked glancing down at the crossbow and Daryl just shrugged.

"I'm a Dixon. Trouble kinda comes with the name." He muttered, unable to take his eyes away from Rick before he realised that he was only wearing a towel around his waist as well and he could feel sudden heat rushing to his cheeks as he stood in the doorway.

"Well, do you want to get into some trouble?" Rick asked, raising his eyebrows at him and that was all it took before Daryl walked across the room and sat down on the bed beside him just as Rick raised his hands, cupping the sides of his face, letting the red towel fall away from his body as he pressed his lips against Daryl's.

Daryl froze a split second, realising just how naked the two of them actually were under the towels and Rick must have sensed his thoughts as he pulled away slightly and looked at him.

"If you don't wanna do this, we don't have to. I only want to do what you're comfortable with." Rick reassured with a gentle smile.

"Nah, I wanna do this... Just ain't ever done it before." Daryl admitted biting his lip as he looked away, not wanting to see the look on the other mans face, but to his shock Rick didn't laugh or make fun of him for him. Instead Rick just cupped the side of his face and tilted his head up so he could look at him.

"Neither have I, so we can figure it out together." Rick replied and Daryl nodded in agreement as Rick leant forward and kissed him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update, life has just been so fucking hectic atm, I’ve been in bed by 8 every night and last night I was in bed by 7, I am just so exhausted and drained with everything, but I promise another chapter will be up before the weekend is over, but after that you might have to wait for next weekend when I have spare time to post the next. 
> 
> Sorry guys, but if any of you are still here and reading this fic, thank you so much and I hoped you liked this chapter. Until next time stay safe everyone and have a great day xx


	8. Chapter 8

***20 Years Ago***

Daryl woke up before Rick the following morning as he rolled over in bed to find the guy lying on his back fast asleep.

He couldn't help but smile at the little line of drool coming out the corner of Ricks mouth as he slept peacefully. It was beyond him why Rick had stayed with him for this long. The two of them have had this secret relationship for months now, which was longer then Daryl ever thought it was going to last. He just kept waiting for Rick to find someone better or to finally realise that he was nothing but a good for nothing redneck, but Rick never did.

Rick liked him, for whatever reason that was beyond him to understand, but Rick liked him and Daryl knew that the man would do anything for him because he would do anything Rick.

After watching Rick lying beside him for a few minutes he figured he should probably get up. So, he carefully climbed out of bed, not wanting to wake the other guy as he pulled his jeans on and threw his vest over the top of his tank top and made his way out to the kitchen.

By the time he had the table set and just finished serving up the bacon, Rick finally emerged from the bedroom wearing a pair of jeans and white tank top as he rubbed his tired eyes.

"Good morning." Rick called out sleepily causing Daryl to snort because the man probably just woke up, smelt the bacon and walked straight out here.

"Good mornin', sit down, it's ready." He replied nodding towards the table as he scooped up the eggs from the pan with a spatula and put them on top of the pieces of toast and bacon before he grabbed the two plates and walked over to the table.

"Have I ever told you how amazing you are?" Rick asked, glancing over at him before he dug into his food as Daryl sat down opposite him with his own plate.

"Only every time I cook for ya." He responded and Rick just hummed in agreement before the two of them continued to eat.

They spent most the day outside. Rick offering to help with the last of the weeds while Daryl quizzed on him the Russian Revolution to help him get some studying in, but Rick was barely paying attention, too distracted by Daryl.

That night the two of them stayed inside the cabin. Rick sat on the couch while Daryl started the a fire in the small fireplace before he joined the other guy on the couch who instantly moved over as Daryl wrapped his arm over his shoulders.

"I saw the scars on your back and chest last night... What happened?" Rick asked curiously, glancing over at Daryl who's eyes were focused on the small flames of the fire, but Rick didn't miss how Daryl's body tensed slightly under him. "If you don't wanna tell me, it's okay." He quickly added, not wanting to make the guy uncomfortable. Daryl would tell him when he was ready, Rick knew that.

"My dad." He muttered, not taking his eyes off the fire as he spoke. "He's an aggressive drunk 'n just looks for a fight. If I talked back to him, I got hit. If I didn't say anythin', I got hit. Hell, some days if I blinked, I got hit. But, on the bad days, he'd use his belt. Most of 'em scars are from the belt." Daryl answered, shaking his head at the memories as he glanced over at Rick to find the other man staring at the scar that was peaking out from under his vest along his chest, his eyes laced with tears as one tickled down his cheek.

"Hey." Daryl quickly said, turning around slightly so he could face Rick, as brushed the tear from his cheek with his thumb. "It's okay. They don't hurt no more." He said, but Rick just shook his head.

"It's not right. You didn't deserve any of this." Rick whispered, pushing Daryl's vest out the way as he ran his finger over the small scar across his chest.

"Don't matter. It's in the past now." He replied, tightening his hold around Rick's shoulder as the other man sighed and rested his head against Daryl's chest.

Neither of them said anything for a while as they sat together and stared at the small flames in the fireplace, before Rick cleared his throat.

"I think... I think I'm falling in love with you." He admitted, tilting his head up slightly so he could look at Daryl who sat there like a stun mullet for a second before his lips twitched up in a slight smile.

"Me too- I mean, I love ya too. I love ya, Rick." Daryl quickly corrected causing the other guy to chuckle slightly before pressed a gentle kiss to the side of his head.

-

The next couple of months went by in a bliss. Daryl had never been so happy in his life. Living with Dale and working in the garage for Dale didn't even feel like work. He loved being under the hood of the classic vintage cars that would get bought into the garage. It was like his version of Disney Land and Rick had to literally drag him out from the cars on the weekends so he actually did something else.

His relationship with Rick was more than perfect. Dale never had any issues with Rick coming over or saying the night, as long as the two of them didn't make too much noise, the older man didn't care. They still managed to keep their relationship a secret, although Rick thought that Shane suspected something between the two of them, but Shane never said anything, so he wasn't sure.

Daryl still hung out with Maggie and Glenn at school, they were his best friends and other than Rick, they were his only friends. Maggie was now showing in her pregnancy, but she took it all in her pride and ignored any comments or looks she'd get from other kids at school.

Although, Daryl did end up nearly punching a guy from class after making a stupid remark about Maggie and Glenn. But, luckily Rick had been in the area and managed to calm him down and get him to just walk away, even though all he wanted to do was punch the prick in the face.

Other than Rick saving him from getting suspended because he sure as hell would've punched the guy, the two of them barely spoke while at school, not wanting to give their relationship away. Although, it killed him not being able to hang around Rick or touch him during school and he knew it was killing Rick too by the looks he'd give him from across the classrooms. If it wasn't for Glenn keeping him in line, he wouldn't have been able to control himself and end up just kissing Rick in the hallways.

Rick had invited Daryl over to his families Easter party. Apparently, it was an annual event that his parents would host and put together where practically everyone in town showed up, except of course anyone from the south side of town where his family grew up.

Nobody wanted anything to do with those kinds of people, especially his family, so he was shocked that Rick actually invited him, but apparently Shane and his other friends were going to be there, so it wouldn't be weird for him to be there too. Except everyone in town knew he was a Dixon, everyone in town knew who his family was and what they were and he knew Ricks parents would too.

He ended up changing outfits six times before he called Glenn and asked for advice on what to wear. To his relief, Glenn ended up driving to Dales house with a few of his shirts that he thought might suit and within 10 minutes he had Daryl in a nice pair of dark denim jeans and black long-sleeved button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

He had to remember to buy Glenn some mountain dew or whatever soda the guy was addicted to now because he just saved his life. But he didn't have time right now as he took Dale's keys and took the mans truck who for whatever reason actually let him take his beloved vehicle before he took off down the road to Rick's house.

The drive there he couldn't stop tapping his hand against the steering wheel anxiously, wanting to impress Rick parents, but not give anything away, especially since there was going to a be a lot of people there, including other kids from school. As he turned down Ricks road he instantly spotted all the cars parked in his driveway and along the sides of the road and he quickly realised that Rick wasn't lying when he said that practically the whole town shows up.

He managed to find a park on the side of the road opposite Rick's house as he turned the engine off and climbed out the truck, taking a deep breath as his eyes scanned the area.

People were all gathered around the front of the house, spread out amongst plastic white tables and chairs all covered with finger food, while all the kids ran around on the front lawn with baskets full of Easter eggs.

Slowly he made his way towards the house, weaving his way through the large mass of people, hating how sweaty his palms were getting as he scanned through the people. All of them glancing over at him with dirty looks, but he just ignored them. He was used to it.

"Daryl!" Rick's voice called out and he turned around to find the other man jogging towards him from the house and Daryl had to stop for a moment as he took in Rick's outfit. The man was wearing dark slacks, topped with a similar button-down to his own, but a light blue colour that shaped his shoulders perfectly.

"So glad you actually came." Rick sighed relief as he reached his side raising his arms before he quickly lowered them and took a step back realising that now was not the time to hug each other.

"Ya invited me, don't regret that do ya?" Daryl asked, biting his thumb nail nervously, because why would Rick want him here anyway? He stood out like a sore thumb and everyone was either staring at him or talking about him behind his back, although it wasn't anything unusual and he didn't care, but he still didn't understand why Rick would want him here.

"No-" Rick began to say before Shane's voice cut it off.

"Rick, brother. Your parents want to meet Daryl. I was telling them all about him, how the two of you are good friends and everything." Shane called out, jogging over to the two of them with a bright smile. "Glad you made it, Dixon. Rick has been talking about you non-stop for the past few months." Shane stated catching Daryl by surprise because he didn't realise Rick talked about him, especially to Shane. Although the two of them were like brothers, so if Rick was going to tell anyone it would be him. Daryl didn't have anything against that, hell, Glenn and Maggie both knew, so it was only fair that Rick could tell a friend too, but he thought Shane hated him, why was he being so nice now?

"Alright, we'll go find them. Thanks, Shane." Rick replied and Shane nodded before he wandered off disappearing amongst the crowd before Rick began leading him towards the house where he spotted Mr and Mrs Grimes under the front veranda.

"Mom, dad. This is my friend, Daryl. Daryl, these are my parents." Rick introduced as they walked up the front steps towards the older couple, but Daryl didn't miss the side eye Ricks father threw at him as he shook their hands.

"So, tell me Daryl, what are your plans for the future?" Mr Grimes asked, folding his arms across his chest and Daryl knew this was a test, but he couldn't figure out why Ricks father was testing him. Did he test all of Ricks friends?

"Umm hopefully go to college next year." Daryl quickly answered, realising that he took a little to long to answer as he glanced over at Mrs Grimes who seemed to not really care about the conversation while she poured plastic cups full of lemonade for the kids.

"He is going to college. He got a 4.0 and 1520 on his SATs." Rick stated, patting Daryl's shoulder causing him to tense slightly but he quickly recovered as Rick's fathers eyes narrowed.

"Well, that's good. Shane said earlier that you knew a few things about cars." His father responded, changing the topic quickly which Daryl was grateful for as he nodded. "I got a bunch of them in the back. Got a whole collection, would you like to see them?"

"Absolutely." Daryl answered before Mr Grimes began walking down the stairs leading him towards the shed he around back. 

Mrs Grimes asked Rick to help with the lemonade, leaving Daryl and Mr Grimes alone as they walked through the side door to the shed and Daryl's eyes widened as he took in all the vintage vehicles. From Camaro's to Dodge Chargers, Mr Grimes had them all.

"Recognise that one?" The older man asked, pointing towards the bright yellow vehicle a few cars down.

"It's a '71 Oldsmobile 442." Daryl answered as they stopped in front of the classic car.

"You know why they call it that?" Ricks father questioned and Daryl nodded.

"Yeah, a 4-barrel carb, 4 speed gear box, dual exhaust. It's a beautiful car, sir." Daryl explained, glancing away from the car to find Mr Grimes now standing beside him in front of the car.

"Smart boy. I can see why he likes you." Mr Grimes responded, the smile on Daryl's face instantly fading as he took in what the man just said.

"Excuse me?" Daryl asked, hoping he heard the older man wrong.

"I know about you and my son. Rick's a good kid, we knew since he was little that he wasn't like most boys and we've tried very hard to keep that side of him hidden from the public eye. The people of this town don't take well to homosexuals and we can't have him tarnishing the Grimes name. I know there's something going on between the two of you and it needs to stop." The older man instructed and Daryl's jaw dropped slightly as he stared at the man in shock.

"Did Shane tell ya?" Daryl questioned, standing up a bit straighter as he stared at Ricks father. It's the only explanation he could think of. Shane didn't know and if Rick told him then Rick would have let him know that Shane knows, but maybe he figured it out himself. That would make sense to why Shane was suddenly being nice to him.

"Shane knows too? Okay, no, he didn't tell me. I figured it out myself. I know my son, I can read him like a book which is why I know he won't break up with you, I need you to do it." Mr Grimes explained as he walked over to the small bar he had set up in the corner of the shed as he grabbed two shot glasses and began going through the cupboard behind him for a bottle of alcohol. Was Ricks father really trying to get him to break up with Rick? Did he seriously think that was going to happen?

"If ya tryin' to get me to break up with ya son, then that ain't happenin'." Daryl stated sternly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Tell you what, I'll give you 80,000 right now. That'll pay for your college, books, rent, whatever shit you kids need for college these days." Mr Grimes suggested, filling the two shot glasses from a rather expensive bottle of whiskey, but Daryl didn't say anything as he glared at Ricks father.

"This isn't personal, kid. I just want what's best for my son and I can't have him anywhere near you or your family. It's gonna end anyway. This way, you get something out of it." He continued to say as he handed one of the glasses to Daryl.

"I don't want ya money." Daryl muttered, staring down at the glass in his hand as he tried to control his anger.

"What's that?"

"I don't want your money." He repeated loudly, lifting his head as his eyes locked with older mans.

"You think about it." Mr Grimes replied, but Daryl shook his head.

"I don't have to." Daryl growled, tipping his head back as he drank the whiskey before he threw the glass to the ground as it shattered against the concrete floor. He held Mr Grimes' gaze for a second before he turned around and began to walk off as he spat the whiskey over the sports car.

"You know what you can do with that 80 grand, sir? Shove it up your ass." Daryl shouted over his shoulder before he walked off.

***Meanwhile***

"I'm just saying man, he should join the football team. I don't care if he doesn't have any experience, with those biceps on him and a couple training sessions, I'd have him set up as our new quarterback in no time." Shane exclaimed, sitting back in his chair as he took a sip from his lemonade causing Rick to roll his eyes.

"Good luck trying to get Daryl to join the team." Rick chuckled, trying to picture Daryl decked out in the football uniform before he quickly shook his head. That was a bad idea, he could fantasise about Daryl wearing those skin tight pants and bending over later, not now in front of his friends and family.

"Speaking of him, where's he going?" Shane suddenly questioned causing Ricks head to turn around in his seat spotting Daryl climbing in his truck before he took off down the road, leaving Rick sitting there in utter confusion. What did his father say to him?

-

Daryl wasn't even sure where he was going until he parked the truck in front of Dales house before collecting his crossbow from the garage and disappeared into the woods out the back of the house. He wasn't really focusing on where he was walking, letting his legs carrying him as he tried to calm himself down.

He wanted to punch Ricks father for what he said, for speaking about Rick like being gay was a bad thing, for trying to bribe him to break up with Rick. He wanted nothing more than to just knock the older man on his ass for everything he said, but he managed to control himself, although he did break a glass and wasted good aged whiskey, but that was the furthest thing from his mind right now.

He couldn't stop his hands from shaking as his grip tightened on his crossbow as he walked, unable to calm himself down as he reached the small clearing by the cliff as he took a deep breath, taking in the view that always managed to relax him.

Even during his worst days when he'd run from his family with blood and bruises painting his body, he'd come here and managed to calm himself down. But, now... he just couldn't. Not when Rick was involved. He didn't give a shit about what happened to himself, but with Rick involved it was different. His father didn't want him around Daryl's family and he understood that. He didn't want Rick anywhere near his family, what if Mr Grimes had a point?

With a sigh, he sat down on the wooden log, resting his crossbow against the log beside him as he leant his elbows on his knees and covered his face with his hands, trying to calm himself down.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there for, but when he heard a twig snap from behind him, he quickly raised his head, realising that the sun was starting to set along the horizon before he turned and spotted Rick walking towards him. He was still wearing the same formal clothes he had been earlier and Daryl quickly realised he must have left the party.

Rick didn't say anything as stepped over the log and sat down beside him with a sigh as he glanced over at Daryl with a sympathetic expression.

"I'm sorry. My dad's an asshole." Rick mumbled, shaking his head in frustration as his eyes locked with Daryl's trying to figure out what his boyfriend was thinking.

"He's right though. Ya got a big life ahead of ya. You're gonna do great things, I don't wanna get in the way of that." Daryl admitted, looking down at the ground as he spoke. He had been thinking about it for however long he'd been out here for. Going over in it his head and he knew he'd drag Rick down, he already has with making the guy have a secret love life. Rick deserved better than that. He deserved better than someone like him.

"Daryl, what would you risk for me?" Rick suddenly asked a moment later causing him to raise his head as his eyes locked with Rick's. 

"Everythin'." Daryl answered without hesitation and Rick smiled sadly as he turned his body until he was facing Daryl properly.

"Then let me love you like that. Please." Rick replied, raising his hand slowly as he cupped the side of Daryl's face who instantly leant into his touch with a sigh before he nodded slightly.

"Okay. Okay." Daryl whispered, leaning forward as he pressed his lips to Ricks who kissed him back tenderly.

"How much did he offer?" Rick asked, as he pulled away slightly, resting their foreheads together.

"There ain't enough money in the world... Well, if he was gonna throw in one of 'em cars, I'd have to think 'bout it." Daryl muttered causing Rick to pull away as he laughed pushing him away slightly as they both began laughing before Rick pulled Daryl towards him by the collar of his shirt and kissed him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so as most of you know life has been hectic for me lately and I'm going to have to cut down my updates for my fics. Usually I try post every few days, but from now on I will only be able to post on the weekends. I'm sorry in advanced , but life has just gotten so crazy and I am honestly exhausted. If anything changes then I will let you guys know, but from now on just expect new chapters on the weekends. 
> 
> Anyway, thank you all for your support, it really means the world to me and I hoped you enjoyed this extra chapter. Until next weekend, stay safe everyone and have a great day xx


	9. Chapter 9

***Present***

Rick laid awake in his old bedroom at his mothers house, unable to stop himself from thinking about the kiss he shared with Daryl only a few hours earlier.

He kissed the man. He straight up kissed him and then ran off like a pussy, what kind of man did that make him? He didn't even want to think about how Daryl must be feeling right now. He was probably confused and rightfully so, but Rick hoped he didn't hate him for it.

It's been over 20 years and he knew Daryl didn't have partner, but what if Daryl didn't have those same feelings for him anymore? Hell, Rick was married with a kid and he still hadn't gotten over his feelings for the other man, so maybe Daryl still did too.

Actually now that he thought about it, Daryl had started to kiss him back. Daryl Dixon had kissed him back, did that mean he still had feelings for him? Or did he just image that whole thing and was being stupid? The latter was a high possibly.

He was too old for this shit. He was a grown man, he shouldn't be staying up late thinking about this sort of thing. The amount of late nights he spent lying on this exact bed thinking about the same man... guess somethings never change. Although, a lot has changed. He was married, he couldn't be kissing other people, especially Daryl.

Oh God, how was he meant to sit in a car with Daryl all the way to Dale's cabin, it was over an hour drive... Why'd he have to kiss him and things awkward?

Covering his face with a pillow, Rick let out a frustrated groan, stuck between dreading seeing Daryl again and eager to see the other man. How was he meant to survive a whole day with him when he ended up kissing him after a few hours? He was so screwed.

-

Daryl stayed up late that night working on Paul Rovia's Mustang. He couldn't stop thinking about the kiss he shared with Rick, although he was still struggling to believe that it had actually happened. Sure, he'd dreamt about kissing Rick many times over the past 20 years, but he knew it would never happen. He honestly thought he'd never see Rick again, but he's glad he was wrong.

He forgot how happy Rick made him feel. Even though the two of them weren't together anymore and the man was married, he still never failed to bring a smile to his face and Daryl couldn't even remember the last time he genuinely smiled or laughed until Rick showed up.

He knew nothing more could ever happen between them, the kiss was a once off thing. Rick had a life. He had the whole white picket fence life with a wife and son. Rick made something of himself and Daryl wasn't going to get in the way of that.

After finishing his work on the Mustang, Daryl had eventually gone to sleep on the old foldout couch in the garage and awoke early the following morning, forgetting how noisy the neighbours rooster was. How was the damn animal still alive anyway? The amount of times Daryl had wanted to jump the fence with his crossbow when he was a teenager and do the whole street a favour by silencing the animal. Rick had called his bluff all those years ago, saying that Daryl could never kill someone's pet and he hated that Rick was right, Rick was always right.

He tried going back to sleep, but the damn rooster wouldn't shut up which was probably for the best because he knew his dreams would be laced with nightmares that had already woken him up twice last night in a pool of his own sweat. Sometimes it would be flashbacks of his father, but others it was of the accident at the Logging Site.

With a sigh he kicked the blankets off his body and gingerly stood up. His body ached most mornings or if he's sitting down in one spot for too long, then he'd start to feel the familiar aches and pains all results from working at the Logging Site for all those years. Lifting logs and sawing of branches, took a toll on his body over time, but it was the accident that really took it out of him.

The only serious injury he received was the cut over his eye and although it needed a shit load of stitches and had left a very distinct scar. He was lucky to still have his left eye and to this day he still had no idea how the flying debris managed to cut above his eye and below it, not scratching or even slightly damaging his eyeball.

The scar he could deal with easily, he's dealt with scars all his life, but it was the injuries that you couldn't see that still annoyed him now. The drop from the waterfall should've killed him and not a day goes by where he doesn't think about it, but all it did was bruise a few bones which healed within a month. But the aching and stiffness in his body never disappeared and just got worse as time went one. It wasn't anything that he couldn't easily deal with, just a few stretches was all he needed to do before the aching vanished, but it was still a pain in the ass and a constant reminder of that day.

He spent most the morning doing last minute adjustments to the Mustang. He wasn't sure if Rick was still going to come around so they could take one car to Dales cabin. He doubted Rick would, not after what happened last night and he didn't blame him.

He reversed the Mustang out the garage to wash it, but as he shut off the engine he heard the rumble of another vehicle causing him to turn around in confusion before he spotted Ricks BMW slowly pulling into the driveway and he exhaled in relief.

"Nice car." Rick called out, rolling down the window to his BMW as Daryl climbed out Mustang unable to hide the relived smile spreading across his face as he looked over at Rick in the car.

"Dale's policy-" Daryl began to say motioning towards the car before Rick spoke up.

"All rebuilds must be test driven before they're returned." Rick finished for him, pulling his keys out the ignition as he climbed out his car. Daryl nodded in agreement before he motioned towards the garage and disappeared for a moment, leaving Rick outside as he took in just how much work Daryl had done on the car since he saw it a couple days ago.

"Ready to go." Daryl called out, tucking his phone and wallet into his jeans pocket while carrying the urn of Dale's ashes and Rick nodded before they both climbed into the vintage vehicle. Rick automatically sitting shotgun, knowing how much Daryl must be itching to take the Mustang for a test drive.

To both of their surprise the drive wasn't awkward in the slightest. They stopped at the local café and picked up a couple coffees and croissants since neither of them had even thought about making breakfast this morning before they hit the familiar road towards Dale's cabin. 

They didn't talk about what happened last night, almost acting like it never happened to begin with. They spoke about old memories of Dale, from the time the old man had caught them making out in the bed of his truck to the time they helped him fix the leaking roof in the bathroom one winter.

Neither of them said anything as they pulled up to the front of the old cabin, both of them completely speechless. It was completely overgrown and run down. Vines and plants had covered the front of the building, the wooden steps leading up the porch cracked and broken. The small vegetable garden he had set up out the front was just a pile of dirt and weeds. They had never seen the cabin like this before, it was always so well maintained and blooming with luscious flowers and plants.

They continued to stare at the overgrown cabin in shock as they silently climbed out the vehicle. Rick grabbed the urn as they began to walk around the side of the house towards the back where they knew Dale's flower garden was, but they were almost scared to see what the flowers looked like.

"God, it used to be so beautiful." Rick commented, breaking the silence as they walked around to the back of the house and Daryl couldn't stop the small gasp that escaped his lips as he took in all the dead flowers, that covered the area behind the house. These tulips were Dales prized possessions. His wife used to plant them every year and after she passed Dale continued the tradition, Daryl couldn't even count how many times Dale had sent to him to work in the garden to maintain the health of the flowers and make sure there weren't any weeds in sight, but now... Daryl couldn't even speak as he took it all in.

"I just... This how we're supposed to do this? Spread his ashes here?" Daryl asked, hating how tight his voice sounded as he stared at the dead flowers when suddenly Rick grabbed his shoulder causing him to flinch, but quickly recovered as he looked over at Rick who smiled sadly at him.

"I guess so. This is where he scattered Clara's ashes, so it seems right." Rick replied as the two of them walked further into the overgrown garden before they stopped, both staring at each other lost for words. "Well, we should say something. Not like a long-winded eulogy or anything like that. Just..." Rick trailed off not really knowing what he was trying to say, but Daryl seemed to understand.

"Yeah, he'd hate that, just somethin' short. No fuss." Daryl muttered, glancing down at the urn in Ricks hands before he shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and stared down at the ground as Rick began to speak.

"Dale could get under your skin sometimes, because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought, how he felt. That kind of honestly is rare and brave. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us... The truth, who we really are. He was one of the only people who knew us and accepted us before anyone else did and looked out for us when both our families were against it." Rick began to say before he realised he was saying a long-winded eulogy and stopped and laughed at himself before he glanced over at Daryl. "We love you, Dale." Rick whispered and Daryl smiled sadly.

"We do." He added as the two of them glanced around the garden for a moment before they began to take turns spreading his ashes.

-

After the spread his ashes two of them needed a moment to themselves. Dale's death only just starting to sink in for the both of them.

Dale had been a big part of both of their lives. Daryl more so when they were younger, but when they got older it was Rick who visited Dale and caught up with him regularly, forming a close friendship with the older man. That was something Daryl regretted, but Dale knew why he never visited and never asked him to because his family was still in town and Dale didn't want him anywhere near them.

Rick opted to driving 10 minutes to the nearest town to pick up dinner and Daryl just nodded in agreement, handing him the keys before they went their separate ways.

Daryl listened to Rick drive off in the Mustang while he sat on the small wooden platform that ran out into the lake out the back of the house, hugging his knees to his chest as he stared out along the crystal clear water watching the small trout jump occasionally.

Dale was like a father figure to him. The older man took him in and looked after him like a son, he was there for him when his own flesh and blood just wanted to use and hurt him. Dale took a risk with him, despite knowing the trouble his family was, but for some reason he still took Daryl in and that was something he'd never forget and take for granted.

He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting out there for or when he had even started to cry, but when he heard footsteps coming up behind him he quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. He cleared his throat, but didn't move to acknowledge Rick as he continued to stare at the water.

The smell of pizza filled the cool afternoon air as Rick placed the pizza box and six-pack of beer on the wooden platform before he sat down beside Daryl, not even saying anything as he wrapped his arm around the other mans shoulder.

He could tell Daryl had been upset earlier, hell, he may have shed a couple tears in the carpark earlier, but he knew Daryl would try to bottle up his emotions like he always did.

But, to his shock Daryl didn't try argue and he leant into Rick's touch, unable to stop his body from shaking as he fought back tears and dropped his head on top of his knees

Rick didn't say anything as he pulled Daryl closer, his hand gently rubbing Daryl's back trying to comfort the other man and Rick couldn't stop his own tears rising in his eyes at the sight of Daryl falling apart in front of him.

Daryl was always the strong one and he'd never seen the other man like this before and he was going to do everything he could to be there for him.

Rick could feel the corner of his shirt getting wet from Daryl's tears as he pulled the man closer until his head was resting on his shoulder, but he didn't care as he held him tightly letting him cry. Rick knew how much Dale meant to him, he was a better father than Daryl's actual piece of shit father and Rick knew how much losing a father hurt. He lost his own father a while back and although the two of them weren't on the best of terms with Rick moving to King County with Shane after they graduated high school, which his father did not approve of, but Rick didn't care. His father was tough on him, but Rick knew his father always tried his best to give him a good life, but he just wished it didn't take his fathers funeral for him to find realise that.

Eventually Daryl had stopped crying, but his body was still trembling slightly against Rick before took in a deep shaky breath and pulled away from Rick as he sat himself up straight.

"M'sorry." Daryl mumbled, his voice barely a whispered as he wiped the tears from his eyes, letting his long hair fall over his face and Rick knew he did that on purpose, but he kept his mouth shut.

"It's okay, you have nothing to apologise for." Rick replied in a gentle tone and Daryl just nodded as he stared out at the water in front of them. "I know you, Daryl. You have to let yourself feel it, not bottle it up. I'm here if you want to talk about it, you know that, right?" Rick asked glancing over at Daryl who just nodded slightly, but didn't show any intention of actually wanting to talk about it and Rick sighed, knowing that Daryl was done with this conversation.

The two of them sat there for a few minutes, staring out across the water as the sun got lower in the sky before they both must have clicked to the fact that they had pizza and beer sitting behind them and they both turned around in sink.

Rick chuckled softly motioning for Daryl to go first as he grabbed two bottles of beer while Rick picked up the pizza box and placed it in front of them as Daryl handed him one of the beers.

"To Dale." Daryl said, speaking up for the first time, his voice still slightly wavy as he held up his beer and Rick nodded, tapping his against Daryl's.

"To Dale." Rick repeated as they both took a long drag of their drinks before they began digging into the pizza, only just realising how hungry they were since all they had eaten today was the half stale croissants from the café this morning.

Neither of them really spoke as they sat together on the platform eating pizza and drinking beer as they stared out at the lake taking in the slowly setting sun.

"When are ya goin' home?" Daryl asked, surprising himself that he had actually asked that out loud and seemed to surprise Rick who blinked a few times like he was trying to process the question before he glanced over at him.

"Tomorrow." Rick answered and Daryl nodded, shifting slightly as he leant forward and rested his forearms against his knees fiddling with his hands almost anxiously causing Rick to frown slightly. "Daryl, what is it?" He asked, his voice laced with sudden concern as he stared at the man.

Daryl didn't say anything for a moment as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously which did nothing to ease Ricks worries as he watched the man carefully trying to figure out what was going on his mind before Daryl sighed and dropped his head.

"Last time I was out at the Logging Site... there was this accident, this explosion." Daryl began to say, staring down at his hands in his lap as he spoke and Rick sat up straighter.

"Wait, that was your site? The Alexandria Logging Site? I saw that on the news, you were there?" Rick questioned in shock and Daryl just nodded, biting his thumb nail as Rick stared at him in disbelief.

"Yeah, a crane tipped. Landed on a log pile, an iron bar piercing straight though it's gas tank. A lotta people were trapped underneath the fallen logs, including my friend, Aaron. I managed to get him out 'n to safety, but when I went back to get the others, fire erupted from the engine, lighting the fuel and the crane exploded... scrap metal from the crane hit my face in the process..." Daryl trailed off, motioning towards the scar over his left eye as he looked away from Rick and he stared out along the horizon thinking back to that shocking day.

"I got thrown back into a nearby river, barely had chance to realise what happened before I fell 100 feet down a waterfall into the water... Still got no idea why I didn't drown. The fall alone should've killed me, doctors couldn't figure it out either." Daryl continued to explain as Rick stared at him with wide eyes.

"God, you were lucky." Rick responded, not knowing what else to say as he tried to process what Daryl had just told him as the other man shrugged.

"I saw ya. I had like a... It was like a dream, but it wasn't a dream. Ya were there with me when I was floating in the water 'n it was strange 'cause I hadn't seen ya in so long." Daryl began to say causing Rick to look at him in confusion as the corners of Daryls lips twitched up in a slight smile as thought back to the image of Rick he had seen when he was in the water and thought he was dying. "Then I get out the hospital 'n I get this call 'bout Dale... Then I come here 'n I see ya. 'N it's like... I dunno. Just strange." Daryl shrugged, biting his thumb nail again.

Rick stared at Daryl for a moment unable to figure out how to respond to what he had just said. He didn't even know what that meant or why Daryl had suddenly seen him when he was facing death, but Rick just smiled and shook his head.

"I'm glad you're okay, Daryl." Rick replied, because what else were you meant to say to that?

"Are you okay?" Daryl suddenly asked and Rick looked up in confusion to find Daryl already looking at him with an unreadable expression.

"What do you mean?" Rick asked cautiously, not exactly sure where this conversation was going, but he was pretty sure he didn't like the direction it was heading.

"If you're unhappy with your life, what are ya gonna do? Don't bother lyin' to me man, it might've been a while, but I still know ya. Ya ain't foolin' me." Daryl elaborated and Rick's jaw dropped slightly as he stared at Daryl before he blinked and shook his head as he stood up and began to walk off before Daryl quickly stood up too.

"Wait." Daryl quickly called out, standing up too as Rick turned around with an almost pissed off expression and Daryl knew he had hit a nerve.

"What are ya gonna do?... Ya know what this feels like to me? Fate. I'm tryin' to get my head around it since it all happened. Why the hell am I still here? Why'd I survive 'n not the others? 'N maybe it's 'cause of this, ya know? Maybe it's a chance to see ya again 'n a chance to tell ya how sorry I am. 'N tell ya how much I still love ya." Daryl admitted, not even realising what he had said until it was too late and Ricks mouth opened like he was about to say something before he closed it again, seeming lost for words.

"You want me to fall back in love with you? How do I do that if I haven't ever stopped?" Rick questioned and Daryl knew it was a rhetorical question, but he still couldn't get himself to say anything. He stared at Rick in pure shock before the other man turned around and walked off towards the cabin, leaving Daryl standing there speechless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this will become my regular posting time from now on. Life is really hectic atm, but if I get any free time during the week I will defiantly try post a chapter early. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you are all still enjoying this fic, I would love to hear your thoughts about it below, but until next time stay safe everyone and have a great day xx


	10. Chapter 10

***20 Years Ago***

Rick was in the garage with Dale, not really doing much. He sat on his usual stool by the work bench handing Dale any tools or equipment he asked for while he waited for Daryl, Glenn and Maggie to come home from school.

The four of them were all gonna get ready for their chemistry final together and Dale had given his permission for them to form a study group in the garage as long as they stuck to studying and didn't start some kind of teenage party inside or something.

Rick had a free period at the end of the day and figured he'd head over to Dales and wait for the others instead of going home. He didn't want to deal with his parents questioning him about why he was going out on a school night and having to make an excuse about studying with Shane. He knew his best friend would cover him for, but he didn't feel in the mood to deal with his parents overprotectiveness at the moment.

"Shoot, I forgot to get the spray-paint out the truck." Dale muttered, closing the hood of the car he was currently working on as Rick jumped off his stool, wanting something to do anyway.

"I'll go get it." He said, not waiting for the older man to responded as he walked around the corner and stepped out the garage. He blinked at the sudden bright sun after being inside the dark garage for so long when suddenly something hard collided with stomach causing him to groan and double over.

Before he even knew what was happening a set of hands grabbed his shoulders and threw him to the ground, knocking the wind out of him. He tried gasping for air when a set of boots slammed into his stomach causing him to cry out in pain.

"Rick!" Dale's voice suddenly shouted and Rick only just managed to lift his head to find Dale rushing outside before he spotted Daryl's father grabbing Dale from behind and slamming his head against the side of the garage, knocking him unconscious before he turned his attention back to Rick.

He quickly tried to crawl away only to be stopped by Daryl's two cousins, blocking his path. He didn't even get a chance to say anything before one of them grabbed him from behind, pinning his arm behind his back painfully.

He heard Dale groan to his left and Rick glanced in his direction as Will walked back over to him and lifted him to his knees, but Rick didn't miss the deep gash on Dale's forehead that was dripping with blood.

"Stay awake. You're gonna want to see this. Now, look at that." Will instructed, grabbing Dale's chin as he pointed towards something behind Rick. The sound of a car roaring to life filled the air before the man who was holding Rick turned him around so he could watch.

It took his clouded brain a few moments to process what he was seeing before he realised that the other Dixon cousin was in Will's truck and driving over Dale's garden bed. He watched in horror as the truck skidded across the tulips, tearing them up.

"There it goes! Whoo! Now, let me ask you something. Did you and your wife plant those tulips?" Rick heard Will question, but he couldn't hear Dales response as Ted revved the engine and drove over to the next flower bed of tulips and began to destroy the flowers that Rick knew meant so much to Dale.

"Stop this!" Rick shouted, thrashing in Kyle Dixons hold, but it was no use the other man outweighed him in muscle easily, but he wasn't about to just sit by and watch this happen.

"Shut up, fag!" Will's voice boomed and Rick barely had any time to respond before Kyle suddenly let go of his arm only for a vice like grip to grab hold of it a moment later and he knew those hands belonged to Will.

"Fuck you." Rick spat, but immediately regretted it when Will snapped his arm on an angel that was not natural before the sound of bone crunching filled the air followed by Ricks pained screams. 

Will wasted no time and lifted him up, pinning him against the garage door and the last thing Rick saw was a fist flying towards his face before everything turned black. 

-

"You sure Dale doesn't mind us staying the night to study?" Maggie asked from the driver seat of her car, glancing over at Daryl through the revision mirror before she turned down Dale's driveway.

"Of course not, he-" Daryl began to reply before he frowned spotted the garden beds all ripped up and that's when he spotted Rick and Dale's bodies lying on the ground outside the garage and his heart stopped.

"Stop! It's Rick 'n Dale, stop the car." Daryl suddenly yelled and Maggie didn't hesitate as she hit the breaks and Daryl was out the door before her or Glenn even removed their seatbelts.

"Rick! Dale!" Daryl shouted, sprinting out the car as he dropped to his knees beside Rick, taking in the deep bruises over the side of his face, but he didn't miss how his arm was sprawled out beside him on an angel that made his stomach turn.

"Call 911! Go, now!" Daryl ordered, glancing over his shoulder towards the young couple as Maggie ran towards the house despite her heavily pregnant form as Glenn dropped down beside Dale to check on him.

"Rick! Rick. Hey, can ya hear me? Rick." Daryl pleated, his voice cracking at the end as he cupped the mans face with his hands trying to wake him up as Ricks eyes fluttered open. His blue eyes glazed over as he stared up at him in confusion and Daryl knew Rick definitely had a concussion as well as other injuries. God, where was that ambulance?

"W-Will." Rick croaked out, his voice barely above a whisper as his eyes drifted shut again, but Daryl heard him loud and clear as his blood ran cold. His father did this. His father came here and bashed his boyfriend and Dale trying to get back at him? This was all his fault.

"Glenn, ya stay with him. Ya help 'em." Daryl instructed, hastily getting to his feet, passing Maggie down the stairs as she helped Glenn. 

Daryl stormed inside and made a beeline for his bedroom as he grabbed his crossbow from his desk, quickly loaded a bolt onto the string before he rushed back outside. He glanced down at Glenn and Maggie sitting by Rick and Dale's unconscious bodies as he stormed towards Dale's truck with his crossbow in his hands.

"Daryl! Wait! What are you gonna do?" Glenn's voice suddenly questioned from behind him as he kept walking towards the truck.

"Daryl, don't do this!" Maggie shouted desperately from somewhere behind him, but he just ignored them as he opened the drivers side door and climbed in.

"Just talk to me! Give me the crossbow." Glenn instructed, opening up the passenger side door and climbing in, shutting the door behind himself as he reached for the bow that was sitting on the bench seat between them, but Daryl grabbed it first.

"Get out of the truck, Glenn." Daryl growled, glaring at his best friend who shook his head as Maggie reached the passenger side door, reaching for Glenn through the open window.

"Don't do this. It's what he wants." Glenn tried to argue.

"Get out of the truck, Glenn!" Daryl yelled again, turning the keys in the ignition, bringing the old vehicle to life.

"Glenn, no." Maggie sobbed as he turned his attention back towards his girlfriend.

"Stay with Rick and Dale. Go to the hospital with them, I'll find you." Glenn promised and Daryl slammed the truck into gear as he took off down the road, knowing that Glenn wouldn't change his mind as he sped out the driveway, barely looking for oncoming traffic as he took off down the road in the direction of his families rundown house.

"Just think this through, man. Calm down, this is crazy. Rick needs you. Dale needs you, they both need us right now, just turn the car around. You don't have to do this." Glenn argued, but Daryl didn't listen as he drove way to fast to be consider safe, but all he could think about right now was Rick's bruised up face, broken arm and the bloodied gash in Dale's forehead, all caused from his father.

He pulled into the Dixon driveway, spotting his father and two cousins sitting on deckchairs outside the house, smoking and drinking like usual, but Daryl didn't miss the sheepish grin appearing on his father face when he realised it was him pulling up.

"Stay back, Glenn." He instructed as the two of them climbed out the truck, Daryl sending Glenn a warning look and the other guy just nodded, staying by the truck as Daryl grabbed his crossbow and began walking towards his father.

He raised the crossbow once he was a few metres from his family, aiming the sights on his father as his finger hovered over the trigger.

"Look at you, you're all dressed to kill. Is that what you are? You're a killer now? You're gonna kill all three of us?" Will questioned, leaning back in his chair as he motioned towards Ted and Kyle, but he could barely hear what the bastard was saying over the blood rushing in his ears.

"No. Just you." He growled, his grip tightening around his crossbow. The amount of times he had thought about doing this. He had thought about just ending it all, not even caring if he got sent to jail for it because if his father was dead, then it'd be worth it

"Why don't you go on and do it then?" Will challenged, standing up from his chair as he walked towards him until the broadhead of his bolt was only inches away from his fathers chest.

"Put down the crossbow, Daryl!" Glenn shouted desperately from behind him, but all he was focused on was the man in front of him.

"He will. Don't worry, kid. I know this one. He ain't no killer. You're not a killer, son. Here." His father said gently, lifting his hand as he grabbed end of his crossbow and slowly lowered it. "You ain't nothing." Will added and that was all it took before Daryl slammed his free fist against the side of his fathers face catching him off guard as he staggered backwards.

"Hell no." Ted's voice shouted as he charged at Daryl, but Daryl easily dodged his attached and punched his older cousin in the face before Kyle dragged Ted away. Daryl turned his attention back to his father who was on his hands and knees, holding his bloodied nose.

"Get up!" Daryl shouted, trying to keep his anger in check as he glanced down at his crossbow that had been knocked from his hands during the fight to find it only a few feet from him.

"I gotta tell ya. I didn't see that coming." His father began to say before he grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it at Daryl's face causing him to quickly cover his eyes before Will sprung up and tackled him to the ground.

He could hear his cousins cheering his father on as he pinned him to the ground on his back and slammed his fist against the side of Daryl's face, but Daryl just took the hit, not even bothering to try and block it. The familiar sensation of a knuckles hitting his cheek followed by sudden pain before he punched his father in the nose again, sending the older man tumbling off him.

Without hesitation Daryl quickly got up, pinning his father on his back like he was doing only moments earlier to him before he began to punch him in the face. Hit, after hit, after hit, before he grabbed his fathers throat with both hands and squeezed, hard.

"Daryl, that's enough! You're gonna kill him. Come on!" Glenn's voice shouted in the distance, but Daryl didn't hear him over his heart pounding in his chest as he stared down at his father beneath him.

Suddenly, a set of hands grabbed him and he glanced over his shoulder to find Glenn staring at him desperately and Daryl knew he had made his point as he let his friend pull him away.

The two of them began walking back to the truck, Glenn with his arm slung over Daryl's shoulder to keep him walking straight before Glenn glanced over his shoulder back towards the others and by the way his body suddenly tensed, Daryl knew it wasn't good.

He quickly spun around, his eyes widening in fear when he saw his father crawling towards his still loaded crossbow that was lying on the ground. In an instant Daryl was out of Glenn's arm as he sprinted towards his father, diving for his crossbow just as his father got a hand to it.

Daryl tried yanking his crossbow out his fathers grip, but he wouldn't let go as the two of them rolled around on the ground, trying to get control of the crossbow, but neither of them wanted to let go of the weapon.

Somehow his father managed to get on top of him, his knee digging into Daryl's rib cage as he tried to tilt the crossbow towards Daryl's face so he could pull the trigger, but Daryl desperately tried holding the weapon away from his head, but he knew he was fighting a losing battle. His father had the upper hand and he knew he couldn't hold the crossbow away from his face forever, especially not when his father was using his whole-body weight to push the weapon down towards him.

Out of nowhere, his father pulled the trigger. Daryl only just managing to keep the sights off him as the bolt flew straight past his head and Daryl tilted his head to the side to see where the bolt had gone and his entire body froze. 

Glenn was standing behind him, the crossbow bolt speared straight through his forehead as blood began to run down his face before his body collapsed to the ground, dead.

"Glenn. Glenn!" Daryl shouted, pushing his father off him as he hastily got to his feet and sprinted towards his friend as he dropped down beside him. "Glenn, no, no. Look at me, look at me." Daryl begged, his hands grabbing Glenn's face as he took in his bolt stuck through the centre of his forehead, but Glenn didn't respond. Tears began pouring down Daryl's cheeks as he buried his head into Glenn's chest and cried.

-

"Glenn had just started to get his life together. He was gonna be a dad. Dale, he was gonna be such a good dad. He's the first friend I ever had, he was like family." Daryl whimpered, lowering his head as he sat at a small table in a interrogation room, wearing one of Ricks suits while his hands were handcuffed to the table, waiting for trial.

"Look at me, son. I said look at me." Dale instructed and Daryl reluctantly raised his head as he looked over at Dale. The older man looked tired as he stared at Daryl, a large white bandage covering the cut on his forehead that Daryl knew had stitches underneath. He hadn't seen Rick since it happened, but Dale had said that he was fine. A bit bruised and had a cast on his left arm, but other than that he was fine, which didn't make Daryl feel any better.

"The DA doesn't want you. He wants Will. If you help them, then they will help you." Dale started to explain, which was exactly what his lawyer was saying earlier, but was still trying to process what happened.

"I killed him, Dale. I deserve to be here." Daryl mumbled, lowering his head as he tried to stop the tears from welling up in his eyes. He killed Glenn, his father might have pulled the trigger, but it was his fault. Glenn Rhee was dead because of him. Maggie has to raise a baby on her own because of him. It's all because of him.

"Yeah, you showed up there with a loaded weapon and... you're gonna have to do some time for that. But, son, there is a reason that you are here. You have a life to live and you're gonna fight back and you're gonna keep fighting back." Dale stated, his voice turning shaky as he leant forward and rested his hands on top of Daryl's that were still chained to the table.

"'Cause no matter what you think, you are not just your father's son. Daryl, you are not like them other boys. You're a good kid and you're my boy." Dale continued, his voice breaking at the end and that was all it took before the tears Daryl had been trying so hard to fight back, began to pour down his cheeks as he dropped his head on top of Dale's hands and cried. "You hear me?" Dale questioned, trying to keep his tone strong.

"Yes, sir." Daryl whispered, lifting his head as he bit his quivering lip, trying to stop himself from crying as he sat up straight and looked over at Dale who's eyes were laced with tears and he nodded.

-

Daryl ended up doing what Dale and his lawyer had told him to, by telling the truth about what happened and giving the DA dirt on his father. It reduced his sentence slightly, but he was still stuck in jail for eight years, maybe a couple years less if he behaved.

Dale had been with him the entire time, supporting him from the sidelines and had told him how much Rick had wanted to be there during all the court hearings and stuff, but Ricks parents weren't letting out the house and Daryl didn't blame them.

However, after the sentence, Rick had managed to sneak out the house a couple of times, with Shanes help who picked him up saying that they were gonna study before he dropped Rick off at the prison so he could see Daryl.

He didn't have much to do inside his prison cell other than think and he had been doing that a lot lately. Thinking about Rick. He couldn't stop thinking about Rick and how Rick was willing to wait for him to get out of jail, but that was eight years away. He couldn't let Rick put his life on hold for him, he couldn't let Rick waste his life like that. But, how was he meant to tell Rick that? He wouldn't listen, Daryl knew that, he was as stubborn as he was and he loved, but hated that about the other guy.

"Dixon, you got a visitor." The prison guard suddenly declared, tapping his baton against the bars of his cell and Daryl immediately jumped off from the top bunk bed, glancing over at his cellmate, Abraham Ford.

He didn't seem like a bad guy as far as Daryl could tell. Said he was in here for killing a man who raped and bashed his wife, of course he could be lying, but Abraham hadn't bothered him, so he didn't think he was that bad.

Daryl followed the prison guard down the hallways, hoping that it was Dale visiting him and not Rick because he needed time to figure out what to say to the man. But, as he walked into the small visiting room, where lines of booths with telephones sat he spotted Rick sitting down on the other side of the far booth, holding the telephone to his ear as he waited patiently and Daryl sighed.

"Hey." Daryl said, sitting down opposite Rick as he grabbed the other phone as he looked at Rick through the glass window between them.

The bruises along Rick's face had finally healed, but the white cast over Rick's left arm was still a constant reminder of that day, but he knew the cast would be off in a couple of weeks which was a relief.

"Hey. I bought you some books and things. You just let me know if I need to bring anything else for you and I'll bring it next time, alright?" Rick asked, smiling sadly at him and Daryl sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he shook his head.

"There can't be a next time." He responded, trying to keep his voice strong despite wanting nothing more than just hug Rick right now.

"What do you mean?" Rick questioned in confusion and Daryl dropped his head for a moment, composing himself before he looked back towards Rick.

"I got eight years. I mean, it's what, six before I'm even eligible for parole?"

"I'll wait." Rick insisted, but Daryl shook his head.

"No. No, I can't let ya do that." Daryl responded.

"You don't get to make that choice." Rick argued and Daryl sighed, hating himself for doing this.

"If this was the last time you're gonna see me... what would ya say?" Daryl asked, feeling tears starting to rise in his eyes, but he fought them back. This was the last place he needed to cry.

"Please don't do this." Rick begged and Daryl could see his eyes were now laced with tears too. 

"I'd say 'thank you.'" Daryl began to say before Rick cut him off.

"I'm not walking away." Rick insisted, but Daryl just ignored him.

"I'd say 'I love you.'" He continued, taking a deep breath as he stared into Rick's pleading eyes. "I always will."

"Daryl, please don't do this. Please. I love you." Rick begged and Daryl smiled sadly at the other man as he lowered the telephone from his ear and hung it up on the hook beside him before he looked back towards Rick who now had tears falling down his cheeks as he frantically shook his head.

Daryl stared at Rick for a few sounds mouthing 'I love you' knowing Rick couldn't hear him without the phone before he stood up from the chair and began walking off. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well now you guys know what happened in their past, what do you guys think? This chapter really hurt to write, but I always knew this was how I wanted it to happen. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, but until next time stay safe everyone and have a great day xx


	11. Chapter 11

***Present***

"Rick, wait." Daryl shouted, jogging after him back towards the cabin until Rick suddenly stopped and turned around causing Daryl to nearly run straight into the back of him.

"You know, after our last conversation at the prison I still went there every day for a month! And then every week for a year, but you never accepted my visits. Did they even tell you that I came?" Rick questioned, resting his hands on his hips as he stared at Daryl.

"They told me." Daryl answered with a small nod and Rick just shook his head in disbelief.

"I guess maybe I hoped they didn't. Do you even know that I went when Lori and I started dating? I told her I was going to see my parents and you didn't want to see me?" Rick questioned, anger lacing his voice.

"That's the only thing I did want." Daryl snapped, before he took a deep breath trying to calm himself down. "I never stopped loving you, Rick. Not once."

"Then why didn't you?" Rick questioned and Daryl shook his head, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Because I... I know this doesn't make sense..." Daryl trailed off unable to get his thoughts into words.

"It doesn't." Rick responded, turning around to walk away, but Daryl quickly grabbed his shoulder and rushed in front of him.

"Rick. Listen to me. I wanted to do somethin' good 'n I wanted to save ya from some of the pain." Daryl tried to explain, but Rick shook his head.

"You didn't save me from anything. I lived with the pain every day of my life, Daryl, and I blame you. I blame you for thinking you knew what was best for me, when it was you that was best for me!" Rick shouted, his voice laced with emotion as he stared at Daryl.

"I couldn't have you wait for me. There was so much you wanted to do with your life-" Daryl began to say before Rick cut him off.

"I wanted to do it with you! And I would have waited for as long as it took." Rick responded, pushing Daryl against his chest, but Daryl barely budged as he stared at Rick with soft eyes.

"I didn't deserve ya, Rick." Daryl muttered.

"Oh, deserve me? Jesus, Daryl. Don't you understand? When Lori and I had Carl, and I know this is wrong, but do you know that when we had him, I wanted to tell you." Rick began to say as he took a shaky breath. "And when I lost Judith... I wanted you to hold me." Rick mumbled, unable to stop the tears from falling down his cheeks and Daryl didn't hesitate as he wrapped Rick up into a tight hug and Rick buried his face in the crook of Daryl's neck.

"And when I was alone at night, I wanted... I wanted you and I cried for you and I hated you and I hated you because..." Rick sobbed, before he pulled away from Daryl's chest as looked him in the eye. "Because I would have chosen you no matter what and you took that away from me." Rick continued, not even bothering to wipe the tears from his eyes as he stared at Daryl.

"I made a mistake-" Daryl started to say.

"Yes, you did. But, see, I still love you." Rick whispered taking a step towards Daryl as the other man immediately pulled him into a tight hug again, kissing the side of Ricks head as Rick wrapped his arms around his body. Neither of them moved for a while as they stood beside the cabin and held each other tightly, neither of them wanting to pull away.

Eventually they did, both of them picking up the empty beer bottles and pizza box from earlier before they made their way into the cabin. Although the outside had been completely overgrown, the inside of the cabin was exactly like how he remembered it.

The sun had long ago disappeared in the sky while they had been outside talking, so while Rick got himself a drink from the kitchen, Daryl walked into the lounge room. He walked over to the fireplace, making sure that it seemed to be in good condition before he started the fire, knowing that nights got cool all the way out here. 

Once he was satisfied that the fire was good enough he stood himself up and make his way over to the couch where Rick had sat down. But as he took a step towards the couch, he tripped over the corner of the rug and he was unable to stop himself from falling as he landed on top of Rick on the couch who quickly grabbed Daryl's shoulders to stop the other man from falling back off the couch.

"Very graceful." Rick teased, lying under Daryl causing the other man to snort as Rick chuckled, but didn't make any indication that he wanted Daryl to get off him.

"Shut up." Daryl muttered, but there was no real heat behind his voice, his eyes locking with Ricks as he glanced down at the mans lips before he lowered himself down onto his forearms until their faces were only inches apart.

Neither of them moved for a second as they stared at each other before Rick raised his hand, brushing Daryl's hair away from his face. His finger tracing over the scar by his eye before he gently grabbed the back of his neck and pulled Daryl down towards him as he pressed his lips to his.

"Ya sure 'bout this?" Daryl mumbled against his lips, but Rick didn't bother responding with words as he continued to kiss Daryl eagerly. His hands moving away from the mans face as he reached for the buttons of Daryl's sleeveless shirt and began undoing them. That was all the encouragement Daryl needed.

-

That night they both curled up in the spare bedroom together. Rick curled up against Daryl's side with his head resting over his bare chest as he fingers slowly traced over the scars across his chest.

"Would you do one thing for me?" Rick asked softly, his voice a mere whisper as he spoke and Daryl hummed indicating that he heard him as he glanced down at Rick against him before the other man continued. "Would you forgive yourself? You're a good man, Daryl. Believe it."

Daryl didn't say anything in response as Ricks words tumbled around in his head, but he knew Rick didn't expect him to say anything. Daryl laid awake staring at the ceiling of the bedroom as Ricks heartbeat fell into a steady rhythm indicating that he had fallen asleep.

He glanced down at Rick asleep in his arms and smiled softly at the man he loved, but he knew this couldn't last.

Rick had a family. He had a whole life back in King County and Daryl couldn't pull him away from that. He wouldn't pull Rick away from that, no matter how much he wanted to. No matter how badly he just wanted to keep Rick to himself and never leave this cabin, he couldn't do that. 

Rick had a wife, he had a son, he had a house and although it wasn't quite the future Rick had probably pictured, it was still his life. He knew Rick, he knew the man wouldn't be able to leave that behind and he wouldn't make him.

Rick was leaving tomorrow and they'll probably never see each other again, Daryl knew that. But, he'd be damned if he wasted his last day with the man he loved.

-

Daryl woke up early the next morning, silently slipping out of Rick's arms, careful not to wake the sleeping man. He pulled on his jeans and grabbed his sleevless button-down, not worrying about his vest before he grabbed the keys to the Mustang and quickly ducked down the street to grab some eggs and bacon.

By the time Rick wandered out the bedroom, Daryl had already set the table with plates loaded of food and was in the middle of filling up two glasses of orange juice before he heard Rick's footsteps.

He glanced over his shoulder as Rick rubbed his tired eyes with a bright smile appearing on his face. But it was Daryl who started to smile, realising that Rick had put his leather vest on, not bothering to put a shirt on underneath or do the buttons up as he walked towards him.

"That vest looks a lot better on ya." Daryl commented causing Rick to roll his eyes as he sat down at the table in his usual seat and Daryl put the juice back in the fridge before he joined Rick at the table and the two of them started to eat.

"Shocked you still have it." Rick responded a few minutes later between mouthfuls of food and Daryl just shrugged his shoulders, but Rick knew Daryl wouldn't part with the vest unless he absolutely had to. It had belonged to Merle and Daryl used to wear it everywhere when they were teenagers and it seems like nothing had changed, but Rick liked that. The vest was a part of him, it just wouldn't seem right if he didn't have it anymore.

Rick helped him with the dishes after they finished the food before the two of them migrated outside and sat down on the porch swing together. Rick wrapped his arm over Daryl's shoulders as they leant back and enjoyed the beautiful peaceful morning.

"Happy?" Rick asked quietly, silently running his fingers through Daryl's hair as they stared out at the overgrown garden.

"Yeah." Daryl sighed, leaning into Rick a bit more, wanting to savour this moment before Rick's phone began to ring.

Daryl quickly pulled away from Rick, giving the man room to fish his phone out of his pocket as he looked at the screen to see who it was before he stood up from the porch swing.

"Sorry, it's my son." Rick apologised, standing up as he glanced over at Daryl who nodded as Rick answered the phone and held it to his ear. "Hey, Carl. Yeah, I'm doing okay. How are you?" Rick asked into the phone as Daryl watched him sadly, knowing that Rick had to go back to his son.

"Are his parents going?- I just don't want you to go somewhere where they're aren't any adults around. -Alright, good, just ask your mom. – I miss you, too. I'll see you when you get home, I love you, bye." Rick said into the phone before he hung up and tucked the device back in his pocket as Daryl stood up from the chair and walked over to him. "Sorry, about that. It was Carl wanting to know if he could go to a party."

"Nah, it's okay." Daryl quickly replied, running his fingers through his hair nervously as he reached for Rick's hands with a sad smile.

"What is it?" Rick asked, not liking the look on Daryl's face because he knew whatever he was going to say wasn't gonna be good.

"We can't do this, can we? I know ya, Rick. I know your heart. You're the guy who came to the prison every day for a month 'n every week for a year. Ya have a wife 'n ya have a son that ya love very much. Ya won't give up easy. These past few days have been so good... A chance to see ya 'n to talk to ya. To heal the past... To love ya again." Daryl started to say, his hand squeezing Rick's slightly as Rick sighed and pulled away as he turned around, taking in a deep breath. Daryl followed, gently touching Rick's shoulder before he wrapped his arms around the other mans stomach from behind and Rick instantly rested his hands over Daryl's arm as he tiled his head until it was leaning against Daryl's.

"No matter what happens, Rick, I want ya to know how grateful I am..." Daryl trailed off, his voice cracking at the end. "'Cause at the end of it all, I get to say I know what it's like to have loved someone. Truly love someone because I've loved ya." Daryl whispered, hating that he couldn't keep the tears in his eyes as they silently tricked down his cheeks. He didn't want to say goodbye, but he knew it had to be done.

"I-I have to go back." Rick stuttered, his voice sounding as emotional as Daryl was feeling right now as he took in a deep shaky breath. "I don't know how I'm gonna say goodbye to you." Rick whispered, turning his body around until he was facing Daryl.

"I'll always be here." Daryl replied softly as he lifted his hand and rested it against the side of Rick's cheek, wiping away the tears with his thumb. "'N I'll always love ya." He said, staring at Rick through teary eyes before he pressed his lips to his one last time and Rick kissed him back deeply before they pulled each other into a tight hug.

-

Rick got home by late afternoon, taking the Mustang back to Dale's house before driving his BMW the rest of the way home.

Apparently, Daryl was going to call that Paul Rovia guy and get him to pick him up on his way through to pick up his car. So, Rick took the Mustang while Daryl stayed at the cabin for a bit longer wanting to do some work in the garden before he left.

That was one of the hardest things Rick has had to do, driving out the driveway while Daryl stood watching from the veranda. The amount of times he felt like just turning around and going back and never leaving, but he knew he couldn't do that, no matter how much he wanted to.

"Hello?" Rick called out, walking through the front door of his house, pulling his suitcase along behind him as he glanced around the empty hallway. He knew Carl wouldn't be home yet, but he thought Lori was since her car was still in the driveway.

He went straight to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water before he went up the bedroom to start unpacking his clothes when he spotted Lori in the bathroom curling her hair.

"Hey, I'm home." He called out, throwing the suitcase on the bed as Lori glanced over at him before looking back at the mirror to continue doing her hair.

"You just get back?" She asked, not bothering to look at him as she put the curler down and started began brushing out the pig tails. "How was it?" She asked, although by the tone of her voice it was clear that she didn't really care and had better things to do.

"Nice... Sad." Rick answered truthfully and Lori just hummed not really listening as they stood in silence for a moment before Lori glanced over at him.

"How's your mom?"

"She missed us at Easter." He responded and Lori nodded, before she went back to doing her hair. "Want me to go get tea started?" Rick asked, but Lori shook her head.

"I won't be here for tea, I'm going out with the girls tonight. Feel free to heat up the left over spaghetti in the fridge though." She suggested with a smile and Rick just nodded, not saying anything else as he walked out the room.

He pulled his phone out and shot off a quick text message to Shane to see if he was home and wanted to come over, to which he replied not even a minute later with 'Be there in 5, I got the beer'. 

By the time Lori had left for her girls night Shane was already sitting out the back under the veranda nursing his second beer as the two of them talked.

"I caught with Daryl Dixon while I was there." Rick admitted, glancing over at Shane who was sitting on the chair beside him. Shane nodded waiting for Rick to continue and he sighed, shaking his head at himself before he told his best friend what happened between him and Daryl while he was back in town causing Shane to grin.

"I always knew the two of you were more than friends. Can't believe it took you this long to finally tell me, I'm only your best friend and all." Shane responded causing Rick's eyes to wide in shock as he sat up in his chair and stared at Shane who still had that smug grin on his face.

"You knew?" Rick questioned in disbelief.

"Your kidding right? You two were always making heart eyes at each other. Glenn, Maggie and I used to have a bet about how long it would take you two to man up and announce your relationship. She said a few months, I said a year, but Glenn said Daryl wouldn't do it until his family was either gone or you guys moved away. He knew Daryl didn't want to put you in any danger... I guess Glenn won that bet, I still owed him a beer for that." Shane explained with a small shrug as he took a sip of his drink.

"I'm sorry I never told you-" Rick began to apologise, but Shane shook his head.

"Enough of that shit. Don't go apologising for that. I wasn't always the best kid, I could be a real asshole. Hell, I still am and back then... well, it wasn't really an option to be anything but straight, especially in our town. I get why you never said anything." Shane responded and Rick nodded in agreement as he took a gulp from his own beer.

-

'_Daryl, _

_Over the years I've come to know Rick pretty well. He's got a lot of good inside him. A lot of pain too about the past, about you. _

_I got you together here because I don't want either of you living with regret. You two were meant to love each other. You needed a chance to remember that. I'm not saying you're gonna be together. I don't know that. And if it doesn't work out, you'll miss him so much you'll barely be able to move. You'll feel you have no purpose, no reason to go on. But there's nothing to do but wait. Wait and it'll get clear to you. You'll get on with your life and gifts will come into it. I was lost when Clara died. Then one day this kid walks into my garage. I want you to know the gift you were to me. I thank you for it._

_Dale.'_

Daryl sat on the porch swing reading Dale's letter that he had forgotten was tucked in the pocket of his vest. Silent tears fell down his cheeks as read Dale's last words to him before he looked back up towards the overgrown garden.

He might as well work while he was waiting for Paul Rovia to come by and pick him up before they went back to town to get his Mustang. Daryl spent the next hour working away at the garden and by the time a red hatchback pulled into the driveway, Daryl had all the weeds ripped up, giving the remaining flowers room to breath.

"Guessing you're Daryl?" A male voice questioned and Daryl just finished locking the front door of the cabin as he turned around to find a man with long brown hair and a beard climbing out the car with a bright smile and Daryl nodded.

"Paul Rovia, but my friends call me, Jesus. Your pick." The man responded and Daryl just stared the man for a second before he nodded again as he tucked the keys into his pocket and walked down the porch steps.

"Thanks for swingin' by 'n picking me up. Nice to meet ya." Daryl replied, holding his hand out as the other man shook it before they began walking towards the red car.

"It was on my way. Thank you for finishing the car for me and I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I didn't know him well, but he was a good man." Paul said sincerely and Daryl nodded in agreement before they climbed into the car where another man was sitting in the backseat.

"This is my friend, Kal. He's driving this car home while I take the Mustang." Paul introduced, motioning towards the Asian man sitting in the back as they both exchanged friendly nods before Paul started the car and took off.

Daryl didn't say much on the drive back other than the occasional instruction on which way to turn, but Paul was definitely a talker. By the time they reached Dale's house, Daryl practically knew the mans whole background, although he didn't mind. It gave him a distraction, so he wouldn't think about Rick and for that he was grateful.

Paul was over the moon with how his car looked and sounded when Daryl pulled it out the garage and insisted on giving Daryl the money for it. But, he wouldn't take the cash and told him to donate it some charity or something and after a bit of arguing, Paul eventually agreed, thanking him a thousand times before he drove off with Kal following in the red hatchback.

Once they left, Daryl climbed into his truck and drove to the towns cemetery, stopping along the side of the road to pick a couple bundles of Cherokee Roses. 

He pulled up the cemetery, relieved that there weren't any other people around as he climbed out and walked through the rusty gate.

He went to Merle's grave first, replacing the old flowers he had put there a couple days ago before he walked around to Glenn's grave and did the same. He stood in front of his best friends grave for a while, staring at the gravestone that he could sketch blindfolded by the amount times he's looked at it before the sound of footsteps suddenly caught his attention.

"I knew you were back." A woman's voice called out, but there was no mistaking that thick country accent for anyone else as Daryl turned around in shock to find Maggie Greene walking towards him.

She still looked the same as she did all those years ago, just a little more mature and her hair was cut shorter, but it suited her.

"I saw the flowers on Glenn's grave the other day." She explained, but Daryl was still trying to process the fact that she was here and actually talking to him after what he did all those years ago.

"Maggie." Was all Daryl could manage to say as his voice got stuck in his throat and Maggie's eyes softened. He hadn't spoken to her since that day. Hadn't seen her since the court hearing of his sentencing where she had to give her statement of what she witnessed, but they never had the chance to speak until now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for your support throughout this fic, there's only a few more chapters left to go and I am really excited for you guys to read them. The next chapter will be up on Friday, but until then stay safe everyone and have a great day xx


	12. Chapter 12

  
"Don't. I know what you're gonna say, Daryl. It wasn't your fault." Maggie said, stopping a few metres away from him, but Daryl just shook his head. Glenn's death was on him and there was no way anyone could tell him otherwise.

"It was. M'sorry, I'm so sorry." Daryl apologised, his voice barely a whisper and he wasn't sure if Maggie heard it or not before she suddenly took a step towards him and lifted her hand as she rested it on his shoulder.

"No. You're one of the good things in this world. That's what Glenn thought and he should know because he was one of the good things too." She insisted, her hand squeezing Daryl's shoulder gently as she looked at him. "We told him to get out of the truck. We both did. It wasn't your fault."

"It's just somethin' that lives in my head, ya know? I play it over 'n over..." Daryl trailed off as he stared at the ground.

"Look at me. Look at me. Daryl, you didn't kill him. They killed him... and now it's Hershel." Maggie informed causing Daryl to frown in confusion. "Will and your cousins started coming around when Hershel was about 14. They took him out, eased him in. You know, girls, cars, booze and..." Maggie trailed off and Daryl felt his blood beginning to boil.

"So he's been hangin' around out there?"

"All the time. He didn't get in any real trouble until your father took him under his wing. And now he's running errands for them and making deliveries. He's a good kid. He's not like them. He's like his dad." Maggie explained, her voice breaking at the end as Daryl pulled her into a gentle hug.

"I'll deal with it. You still livin' on your family farm?" He asked a few seconds later as he pulled away and Maggie nodded, confusion forming on her face. "I'll bring him back 'n make sure they stay away from him."

-

After he left the cemetery Daryl drove straight to his families old house after promising himself that he would never go back, but Maggie needed him to. Hershel Jr deserved better than his family, he didn't need to get in the middle of his fathers shit and Glenn sure as hell wouldn't want that either.

He scanned the area as he pulled up and he shook his head at himself as he forced his body to get out the car. The place hadn't changed in the slightest. Maybe things looked a little more worn down and there was more junk scattered around the front, but other than that it was the same as it's always been.

Daryl didn't bother to knock, especially since the front door was open anyway. Silently he made his way through the house, still knowing exactly where all the squeaky floorboards were under the stained carpet as he walked down the hallway.

"What are you doing here?" A male voice questioned and Daryl turned around to find the teenager walking out one of the bedrooms behind him, instantly recognising him as Hershel Jr, since he met him a few days ago at the local hardware store and it was clear the kid recognised him too.

"Hershel, I want ya to come with me." Daryl said calmly, trying to make his voice as least threatening as possible as he looked over at the young man.

"Why the hell would I do that?" Hershel questioned, but before Daryl had a chance to answer the backdoor to the house opened behind him and his eyes widen in shock as his father walked through the door.

"Daryl." Will said, seeming just as surprised as Daryl was as he took in just how old his father had gotten. The past 20 years clearly not being kind to the old man, but that probably had to do with all the alcohol and drugs he's had over the years. If Daryl was honest, he's shocked the man was still alive.

"They told me you were here. What a surprise. It's not even my birthday. What line of bullshit is he feeding you, son?" Will asked, walking past Daryl over to Hershel. "He lives here now, he's family now."

"This is no family. It never was." Daryl muttered, trying to keep his anger in check as his hands formed fists by his side out of habit.

"Well, not to you, maybe. But you never figured that blood counted for much, did ya?" Will asked.

"I'll tell ya what I do know. There was never an ounce of love in this house-" Daryl began to say before Will cut him off.

"Oh, love. You're a weak piece of shit, Daryl. Ya know that? Ya always were, ya always will be."

"I'm weak?" Daryl chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "Ya were my father 'n ya treated me like an animal."

"I tried to make a man outta you. But, it was already too late when you started sticking ya dick in that Grimes boy. Fucking fag. You never appreciated a goddamn thing I gave ya either." Will spat while Hershel stood off to the side glancing between the two of them, not knowing what to do.

"'N what did ya give me? These?" Daryl asked, pulling down the collar of his shirt exposing some of the scars across his chest as Hershel's eyes widened in shock, but Daryl kept his eyes locked with his fathers.

"You are weak. 'N you're not worth it. I'm not gonna let ya ruin another person's life like ya tried to ruin mine. I'm takin' the boy, if he'll go." Daryl stated, glancing over at Hershel. "'N there's nothin' ya can do to stop me, 'cause you're just a scared old man who doesn't want to go back to prison. Don't get in my way." Daryl growled, glaring at his father for a second before he walked past him towards Hershel.

"It's okay." Daryl said gently, motioning towards the front door and Hershel nodded, not looking back at Will before he turned around and began walking towards the door and Daryl followed him back to his truck.

"Will says you're a bad man.... But, my mother says you're one of the best people on this planet... I trust my mom." Hershel spoke up from the passenger seat as Daryl drove out the driveway back towards the Greene farm.

"Thanks." Daryl replied, not really knowing how to respond to that as he focused on the road in front of him and within 10 minutes he was pulling into the Greene driveway, barely parking the truck before the front door to the farmhouse flew open.

"Hershel!" Maggie's voice shouted and Hershel quickly climbed out the car as he ran over to his mother and embraced her into a tight hug before a younger woman walked out the house too and Daryl recognised her as Maggie's younger sister, Beth.

Daryl sat in the car, as he watched the family reunite before Maggie turned towards him and jogged over to the car with a happy smile.

"Thank you so much. I owe you everything." She said, leaning against the open window, but Daryl shook his head.

"Was the least I can do. That's a good boy ya got there. Glenn would be proud." Daryl responded, nodding towards Hershel who was in a deep conversation with Beth causing Maggie to smile proudly at her son.

"We've been getting the money. You don't have to send that. You don't owe us anything." Maggie spoke up a few moments later, bringing his attention back towards her in shock.

"How'd ya know it was me?" He asked, causing Maggie to chuckle, but he thought it was a valid question. He'd been sending her family money since he got out a prison, but he never had his name or any address details attached to it. How'd she know?

"Who else would it be? Who else would send cash through the mail?" She questioned, raising her eyebrows at him causing Daryl to roll his eyes, but she had a point.

"Don't be a stranger. You know where we live, come over sometime. Hershel would love to hear stories about his father, and I'd love see you again, it's been too long." Maggie said sweetly and Daryl nodded in agreement.

"I will."

He drove back to Dale's house, not really sure what to do without the Mustang there to work on as he glanced around the area and looked back towards the overgrown garden bed. 

He set to work with the shovel and fresh seeds that Dale always kept in the garage as he worked on bringing the scrappy garden back to life like he'd done a thousand times before. 

After an hour of working in the garden he wandered back inside for a break as he grabbed a glass of water. He walked into Dale's old office, grabbing a piece of paper and an envelop before walking back into the main room and grabbing a pen from the bench.

He sat back down at the table and began writing out a letter to Rick. He sat there for a few minutes, staring at the blank paper, unable to put his thoughts into words as he tried to figure out the best way to write what he needed to. 

After 20 minutes he folded the piece of paper, tucking it inside the envelop, writing Rick's name on the front and leaving it on the wooden table before he went back outside and continued working on the garden.

-

"Rick!" Lori's voice shouted, causing Rick to wince since he was literally standing in the doorway of the kitchen behind her as he watched her frantically go through every cupboard trying to find something.

"Yes?" He asked and Lori visibly flinched as she turned around shocked that he was right there.

"I didn't know you were there. Do you know where that fancy bottle of wine is? I swear I put it in this cupboard so Carl couldn't find it, but it's not here." She explained, motioning towards the cupboard and Rick frowned slightly.

"Didn't you take it to your friends house the other week?" He questioned and Lori stopped as she thought about what he just said before her head dropped with a soft chuckle.

"I did. Okay, I'll have to buy another on the way to Jacqui's house." She declared, closing the all the cupboards she had opened before she grabbed her handbag and began walking out the kitchen.

"Can I talk to you?" Rick quickly asked, realising that his wife was going out again although she hadn't bothered to tell him and he hadn't even had a chance to talk to her last night before she left.

"I don't have time for this. What do you need to talk about?" She questioned, glancing up at him as she tried to find her keys in the bottom of handbag.

"Us." He answered truthfully, but Lori just rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Rick, I'm 20 minutes late for my girls day with Jacqui and the others. I can't do marriage counselling." Lori responded, shaking her head as she finally found her car keys before heading towards the front door. Why can't they just sit down and talk for five damn minutes?

"I've lied to you, Lori. For a long time I have lied." Rick called out, chasing her out the kitchen as he tried to catch up to her, but for a woman wearing high heels she was quick. "But I want to tell you the truth." He added which seemed to catch her attention as she stopped in by the front door and turned around to face him.

"Okay."

"I saw someone this weekend. Someone I fell in love with a long time ago... I'm still in love with him." Rick admitted and watched as Lori's mouth opened and closed a few times before she just shook her head with a chuckle and walked off.

"I didn't know I was going to see him. I didn't expect to, but I'm glad I did because it made me realise how completely lost I have been." Rick tried to explain as he followed his wife out the front door who was still shaking her head.

"You sound a little crazy." She commented, glancing over her shoulder as she walked towards her car parked in front of the house.

"I don't expect you to understand. When I lost him, I lost who I was... I lied to you, Lori. I have lied to you and I have lied to myself and I've tried to make it work. We both have, but I can't do it anymore." Rick stated as Lori reached for the driver side door, but stopped as she looked back towards him with narrow eyes.

"So what? You want me to stop going out and drinking with my friends? Is that what you want?" Lori snapped.

"What I want is to stop sleepwalking through my life-" Rick began to say before she cut him off.

"Then stop! I mean, just listen to yourself. Get over it! Look, this is my life too. You don't just get to choose." Lori responded.

"Yes, I do and I am done pretending." He snapped, causing Lori to chuckle in disbelief as she shook her head, but didn't say anything further before she climbed into her car, slamming the door shut before she took off down the road.

Rick stood on the front lawn, watching Lori's car drive off in the distance before he pulled his phone out and hovered over Daryl's number that he had put in before he left. He hesitated for a moment before clicking the little green call button as he held the phone to his ear, but it just went straight to voicemail giving him only a few seconds to figure out what to say.

"I was hoping maybe we could talk. A lot of things have changed since I last saw you and well, I just... I want to say 'I love you.' I do, Daryl, and I always have... Alright, call me if you have a moment." Rick said into the phone before he hung up and went back inside.

He messaged Shane, asking when he'd be finished his shift at the station, but he was working back late so Rick just sat down on the couch and started watching Netflix for the rest of the day before his phone started to ring from the coffee table.

He had never moved so fast in his life as he jumped up from the couch and reached for his phone hoping it was Daryl. but frowned when it came up with a bunch of numbers that he didn't recognise.

"Hello?"

"Is this Carl Grimes' father?" A male voice questioned causing Rick to frown even more.

"Yes, this is his father. Who are you?" Rick asked cautiously.

"My name is Siddiq, I'm a nurse at the Grady Memorial Hospital. Carl was in a car crash and is currently being rushed into emergency surgery. There is something wrong with his heart and the doctors are trying to find out exactly what that problem is as we speak." The man didn't even finish his sentence before Rick was already out the house running towards his car.

He may have been driving a little faster than even Shane would let him off for, but that was the furthest thing from his mind at the moment as tried calling Lori at every red light he got, which was more than he wanted. Within 10 minutes he pulled up to the hospital, not even bothering to get a proper car park as he sprinted through the front doors.

"My son, Carl Grimes, has been bought here, where is he?" He frantically questioned the young woman at the front desk who quickly typed his name into the computer.

"He's still in surgery at the moment, but the nurse will come and get you as soon as possible, just take a seat in the waiting room." The young woman instructed and Rick had to bite his tongue to stop himself from yelling at the young woman. It wasn't her fault, she was just trying to do her job, but Rick wanted to know more. All he knew was something was wrong with Carl's heart and they had to do some kind of surgery and that was it.

He sat in the waiting room, tapping his phone against his thigh nervously for the next half an hour, calling Lori a couple more times, but she never answered. Probably too drunk with her friends to even hear her phone ringing.

"Mr Grimes?" A male voice questioned and Rick quickly looked up to find a man in nursing uniform walking towards him and he knew that must be Siddiq.

"How's my son?" He quickly asked, standing up from the chair.

"Post-op. We went in, had a look around. He's stable for now." The doctor explained and Rick nodded slowly trying to process everything as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Okay, what happened?" He asked.

"His car hit a tree, he was thrown from the vehicle. The blunt trauma from the accident has resulted in serious damage to his heart." Siddiq began to explained and Rick blinked at him in shock.

"What does that mean?" Rick asked, but Siddiq didn't get a chance to say anything.

"Rick!" Lori's voice called out and he turned around to find her stumbling towards him and it was clear that she's had one too many glasses of wine, but now was not the time.

"What happened?" Lori asked once she reached his side as she looked over at the nurse.

"It means one of the valves of his heart is torn. It's my determination that we can't repair it. He needs a transplant and very soon." Siddiq informed and Rick's heart dropped. His son needs a heart transplant?

"Doctor, we've lost one child already. We cannot lose another." Rick whispered, tears rising in his eyes as Siddiq nodded in understanding before he walked them down the hallway and into Carl's room.

Rick rushed over to the hospital bed, taking in how pale his son was as he laid underneath the blankets in a hospital gown. Lori was right beside him, her fingers running through Carl's hair as they both stared at their unconscious son in disbelief. This couldn't be happening. Not to Carl. He was too young to go through this, how could this happen?

Neither of them spoke for the next couple of hours as they sat in silence beside Carl's bed, not knowing what to do. What could they do? Carl needed a heart transplant and it wasn't like either of them could donate their heart, although Rick would in a blink of an eye if he could because his son deserved better than this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rick just can't seem to a catch a break, I swear I don't like torturing these characters, it just happens. 
> 
> Anyway, there's only two more chapters after this and one of them is the epilogue, so stay tuned. The next chapter will be up next weekend, I hope you guys are still enjoying this fic, I would love to hear your thoughts about it below. 
> 
> Until next time, stay safe everyone and have a great day xx


	13. Chapter 13

  
***Present***

Daryl finally finished in the garden well past dark. Having worked through the sunset and using a torch while he finished the last little bits and pieces, wanting to make sure the garden of tulips were perfect like how Dale used to have it.

He did one last sweep of the house and garage, making sure everything was okay before he grabbed the keys and his phone from the bench and climbed into his truck. He took a deep breath as he turned the key in the ignition, ready to make the long drive back to his trailer on the outskirts of the woods in Carolina.

He wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do once he got home. It wasn't like he had a job or anything to go back to. He'd probably just end up sitting around the trailer working on Merle's old motorcycle when he wasn't out hunting in the woods.

He should probably get around to looking for a part time job, but for now he had enough money to last a few months before he had to worry about that.

He drove down the main road of the town, the street lights glowing dimly on the sides of the road as he rested his forearm against the open window, letting the cool breeze fill the truck as he drove. The train crossing up ahead began to flash indicating that a train was approaching so he began to slow the truck down causing the vehicle behind him to start revving it's engine.

Daryl stared at the set of headlights through his revision mirror, not liking how close the other vehicle was. He turned his attention back to the road in front of him as the boom gates for the train crossing started to come down and Daryl dropped down a gear getting ready to stop. 

The car behind him suddenly pulled out and sped past him, just getting through the boom gates before they closed causing Daryl to roll his eyes. That person was clearly in a rush, couldn't even wait a couple minutes before the trained past.

Shaking his head, Daryl pulled the truck to a stop as he put it in neutral before he glanced over at his phone sitting on the seat beside him. He reached over to pick it up, figuring he had a while to wait before the train passed.

He turned the phone on realising that he had a miss call from a random number causing him to frown in confusion as to who was ringing him before he bought the phone to his ear to see what the voicemail said.

"Hi, it's me, it's Rick." The voice started to say and Daryl couldn't stop the smile from forming on his lips. "I was hoping maybe we could talk. A lot of things have changed since I last saw you. I wanted to say, I love you. I do, Daryl-" Rick's voice continued to say when out of nowhere a car suddenly slammed into the back of his truck, sending him slamming into the steering wheel, dropping the phone.

He quickly turned around, looking through the back window and he knew those spotlights mounted on the roof of the truck behind him from anywhere. It was his fathers truck. 

He couldn't tell if it was his father or his cousins sitting in the car from the bright headlights, but it didn't matter as the car started to drive forward. It slammed into the back of his truck again, pushing it's bonnet into the back of his truck, moving his car closer and closer to the train tracks where the train was currently flying past.

"Shit." Daryl cursed under his breath as he stepped on the breaks, but his father truck was stronger as it continued to push his truck forwards, knocking down one of the boom gates and Daryl could feel himself starting to panic. Without thinking twice he quickly slammed the truck into reverse and pressed his foot down on the accelerator.

"C'mon!" He yelled as his truck began to push back when suddenly gunshots erupted from his father's truck. The glass window behind him shattered as he ducked down behind the seat, taking his foot off the accelerator as he did so, but the other vehicle had stopped moving too.

Suddenly, the gunfire stopped and Daryl knew what was coming next as the sound of car doors opening and shutting filled the still night air. He frantically glanced around the cab of his truck trying to find anything to use as a weapon, before he spotted an old spanner he had sitting on the seat beside him. Better than nothing.

Without thinking twice he slammed the spanner against the already cracked front windscreen, shattering it completely as he climbed out the front of the truck. He ignored the sting of glass as it cut along his bar arms before he rolled off the bonnet and crawled under the truck.

He could see two sets of feet walking towards the truck, one on either side as the sound of guns cocking filled the air and his grip tightened around the spanner.

The driver side door of his truck opened and he heard Ted's voice shout out in confusion before Daryl slammed the spanner against Ted's knee sending his cousin to the ground in a pained scream.

Daryl glanced back around to the other pair of feet that he figured belonged to his other cousin, Kyle, as he watched the feet quickly rush around to Ted's side of the car and Daryl took the chance.

Without hesitation, he rolled out from under the car and snuck around towards Kyle who had his back to him as he stared down at Ted clutching his broken knee on the ground.

"Oh, hell! Where is he?" Kyle questioned and Daryl didn't waste any time as he slammed the spanner against the back of Kyles head, knocking the man unconscious as his body hit the ground. Daryl tossed the spanner to the side and bent down picking up the two handguns his cousins had dropped as he stared down at his two cousins who had just tried to kill him. Now what was he gonna do?

-

Lori had long ago fallen asleep on her chair beside Carl's hospital bed while Rick paced the small room slowly, not knowing what else to do before a soft knock on the door caught his attention.

"Hey, man." Shane's voice called out quietly and Rick sighed with relief spotting the man standing in the doorway, still dressed in his deputy uniform as Rick walked over to his best friend who immediately pulled him into a tight hug. "C'mon, let's go for a walk, get you something to drink." His friend suggested, but Rick shook his head as he turned back towards Carl.

"I-I can't leave him." Rick stuttered, hating how weak his voice was after spending the past hour crying beside Carls bed.

"Hey, hey. Look at me." Shane instructed, grabbing Ricks face with his hands as Rick looked at him. "You gotta keep up your strength up, man. You gotta handle your end." Shane said as Rick looked at him blankly.

"My-my end?" He asked.

"He's gonna need his father when he wakes up. Carl, he needs that strength from you, man. Lori's with him, he'll be fine for a few minutes." Shane insisted and Rick reluctantly nodded as he let his best friend lead him out the room as they wandered down the hallway, stopping by a vending machine as Rick leant against the side of it.

"I can't lose him, Shane..." Rick trailed off, wiping the tears from his eyes. 

Shane bought a can of coke from the vending machine and handed it to him as Risk shakily opened it and took a sip.

"I know, brother. I know. Those doctors are gonna do everything they can, he's in good hands." Shane tried to reassure, but Rick shook his head.

"They won't be able to do anything if they don't find a heart." Rick whispered, staring down at the coke in his hands and Shane sighed, rubbing the back of his head with his hand when suddenly Lori's voice called out from behind them. They turned around to find Siddiq pushing Carl's hospital gurney down the hallway with a tired Lori walking beside them.

"They're prepping him for surgery. They found a heart. He's got a chance now." She informed, tears falling down her cheeks as him and Shane quickly followed them down the hallway until Siddiq told them they had to wait outside while they operated.

They were sitting on the plastic chairs in the hallway for over four hours or at least that's what the clock on the wall told him because it felt more like four days.

Sometime during those hours Rick had dozed off to sleep without meaning to, only to be woken by Shane elbowing him. He quickly sat up in confusion to find Siddiq walking down the hallway towards them with a bright smile plastered on his face and all three of them let out a shaky sigh of relief. Carl was going to be okay.

-

Later that day, Shane and Lori had managed to convince Rick to go home and get some sleep, since he had been up for over 24 hours and although Rick wanted to argue, he knew they were right. So, while Lori stayed at the hospital, Shane dropped him back off at home, telling him that he'll be around in the afternoon to take him back to the hospital.

Rick went straight upstairs to his bedroom, only bothering to take his shoes off as he climbed into bed still in his clothes and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the front door and he frowned in confusion until he rolled over and looked at the alarm clock realising that it was four in the afternoon. Shit, he was asleep for a lot longer than he thought. 

He quickly jumped out of bed, pulling his shoes on as he raced downstairs and opened the front door to find Shane standing there, no longer in his deputy uniform.

"I overslept. We gotta get back to the hospital." Rick quickly said before he turned around about to go back up the stairs.

"Carl's fine, I just spoke to Lori on the phone, there's no rush." Shane informed and Rick nodded.

"Let me get changed and have a quick shower, then we can go." He said over his shoulder as he started walking up the stairs.

"Rick. Just slow up a bit, I need to talk to you." Shane called out, stopping Rick in his tracks as he slowly turned around, not liking the sudden change to Shane's voice. He looked over at his best friend in the doorway who dropped his head sadly and Ricks heart dropped. Something bad had happened. But, Shane said Carl was fine. What else could it be?

-

"Yeah, Ted and Kyle. Both down." Daryl said into the phone as he stared down at his two cousins unconscious on the road beside his truck. Ted passing out from the pain in his knee only a few minutes ago.

"Okay and you said you were at the train crossing on Smith Street?" Officer Chambler clarified over the phone and Daryl nodded before he realised that she couldn't see him.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Alright, hang tight Daryl. I'll be there soon." She responded.

"No rush, I got nothin' but time-" 

"Daryl Dixon!" A voice suddenly shouted from behind him and Daryl's blood turned cold, knowing exactly who that voice belonged to.

He quickly spun around, his eyes widening when he spotted his father on the other side of the train track standing beside the same truck that had overtaken him earlier when the train passed.

Daryl didn't even have a chance to process what was happening before his father pulled out a rifle from the truck and aimed it towards him before pulling the trigger. The gunshot echoed through the night air before sudden pain exploded through Daryl's midsection.

He looked down at his stomach to find blood seeping through the hole in his shirt before his legs collapsed from underneath him and there was nothing he could do as he fell to the ground on his back.

His breathing came out in short pained gasps as he struggled to get air into his lungs. His hands instantly covering the wound on his stomach. He felt blood seeping through his fingers and he knew he wasn't going to walk away from this. There was too much blood. It was a clean shot straight through his stomach. This was it.

He stared up at the starry night sky, his body starting to shake, but the pain from the bullet wound had vanished as the stars above him started to turn into a bed of flowers. It was almost identical to Dale's garden of tulips before Rick appeared and began walking through the bed of tulips towards him.

It was like the same dream he had when he got thrown from the explosion, but it was different and he couldn't figure out why.

Rick continued to walk towards him and suddenly it clicked. It wasn't the teenager version of Rick that he saw during the explosion, it was the current Rick. His longer curly hair, his broad shoulders underneath the light button-down shirt and his grey stubble lining his jaw line. It looked exactly like him, but deep down Daryl knew this wasn't real.

"It's time." Rick announced, his voice gentle as he held his hand out towards him. "It's okay. You've done your part. It's time to come home." Rick whispered, taking a step closer to him and Daryl tried to reach out towards him, but he couldn't get his body to move.

Rick just smiled sadly at him before his body began to fade away and there was nothing Daryl could do about it as he closed his eyes and let the darkness take him.

-

"Rick, you might want to sit down for this." Shane warned, but Rick just shook his head as he walked down the stairs towards his best friend.

"Just tell me." He instructed, hating how fast his heart was beating right now. Carl was fine, what else had happened?

"I got a call from Officer Tara Chambler earlier, she's the new Sheriff back in our hometown. She said there had been an accident... Rick, I'm so sorry, but Daryl's gone. He was ambushed by his family and his father shot him. Will's being sentence to life in prison, but Daryl's dead. I'm so sorry, brother." Shane explained and Rick just stared at him blankly, not hearing anything else the man said after the words _'Daryl's gone.' _

"No." Rick whispered, shaking his head in denial as tears started to rise in his eyes. Daryl couldn't be dead. He was only with Daryl a few days ago. He couldn't be dead... This couldn't be happening.

"No. No, no, no. You're lying. Tell me you're lying." Rick shouted, his voice coming out cracked and broken as he stared at Shane through teary eyes. But, the other man just shook his head sadly and that was all it took before tears started pouring down his face as he staggered back a few steps, his legs giving out from underneath him.

Shane just managed to grab his shoulders in time to stop him from falling over as he gently lowered the both of them onto the stairs. He pulled Rick into a tight hug, as he broke down crying in his arms and there was nothing he could do or say to make it any better. Daryl Dixon was gone and there was nothing either of them could do to bring him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep... that just happened... I hate myself and cried writing this. BUT there is still one more chapter left and I know you guys probably hate me right now and rightfully so, but I promise the final chapter is good. 
> 
> Anyway, until then stay safe everyone and have a great day xx


	14. Chapter 14

  
***One year later***

"What kind of person has hazelnut in their coffee?" Rick questioned, balancing a tray of coffees in his hand as he opened the door to the police car with his free hand causing Shane to chuckle from the driver's seat.

"What kind of person spills coffee on their uniform?" The other man responded and Rick frowned as he looked down at his new deputy uniform to find a small coffee stain on his chest. Great, one month into his new job and he already ruined his uniform.

"Typical." Rick muttered under his breath as he climbed into the car, handing Shane his coffee before he closed the door and put his seatbelt on as he took a sip from his own cup.

"This reminds me of our first day at school and you spilt apple juice all over yourself. Well, that one was kinda my fault because I bumped you, but still hilarious as fuck." Shane responded trying not to laugh as he looked over at Rick who just glared at him before his face broke out into a smile as he shook his head.

"You're such an asshole." Rick chuckled, shaking his head at his best friend who nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I am. I am the asshole." Shane responded, taking a sip of his coffee before Ricks phone began to ring and he quickly put his coffee in the cup holder before he pulled his phone out his pocket.

"Hey, Carl. Everything okay?" Rick asked, holding the phone to his ear.

"Um, yeah. Why wouldn't it be?" Carl asked through the phone as Shane started the car and drove off down the road while Rick talked.

They were just about to start the long drive back to their home town for a school presentation. Officer Tara Chambler had called their boss a week earlier, asking if anyone could come by to do a school talk.

Most schools usually got a couple police officers in to talk to the children about safety and drugs. Shane had done school visits a million times and their boss had written their names down to do it since it was their home town. But, neither of them were going to complain since they got the weekend off and only had to talk at the school for an hour. It was always good to give back to the community, even if said community was the shit hole that they grew up in.

Rick hadn't been back to their hometown since Daryl's funeral, and even then he nearly didn't go. He just couldn't bring himself to drive back there, to drive back to the town where Daryl had died. Back to the town where him and Daryl first met all those years ago. All those memories, all those feelings, all those moments they had spent together, both as teenagers and when they reunited 20 years later, it was too much. He couldn't deal with reliving those memories, he couldn't step foot in the town where Daryl should be standing.

Daryl didn't deserve this. He had been through so much, he had survived so much, just for his story to end like this, just when Rick had gotten him back... it wasn't fair.

Life wasn't fucking fair. First he lost his baby girl and then he lost the love of his life and the mere thought of going to Daryl's funeral, seeing his face, seeing his grave... he just couldn't bring himself do it. Until Maggie Greene had called him and told him to 'get his ass back home and do it for Daryl, because he'll hate himself forever if he didn't come and say goodbye' in her exact words and she was right.

He still had no idea how she got his number, but after the funeral he was glad she did. It was emotional to say the least, but he got to say his final goodbyes and between him and Maggie, they gave Daryl the proper send off his deserved.

Not a day goes by where he doesn't think about, Daryl. Not a moment goes by where he doesn't miss the hunter, but he knew Daryl would want him to keep living his life. Hell, Daryl had kept himself in isolation during his time in prison, not letting Rick see him because he wanted Rick to move on with his life and not be waiting around for him.

It's because of Daryl that Rick reapplied for the Police Academy. Daryl would want him to live his dream and right now riding in the police car with Shane by his side, it was exactly the future Rick had always pictured and he knew Daryl was smiling down on him. He knew Daryl would be proud. 

"Well, this is your third phone call in two days. That's a record for you." Rick responded through the phone and he could almost hear his son rolling his eyes at him.

"Very funny. No, I'm actually calling because there's something that I wanted you to know. You remember how that nurse, Siddiq, told me that if I waited a year I could file a request to find out who donated my heart?" Carl explained.

"Yeah. Did you decide to go ahead with it?" Rick asked.

"Well, actually, I did go ahead with it. I got the information yesterday and it said he was 39 years old when he died." Carl began to explain as Rick reached for his coffee and took another sip. "Get this, he was actually from your hometown, so I thought maybe you knew him. Daryl Dixon."

Rick practically choked on his coffee as he coughed a few times and quickly covered his mouth with his hands in pure shock. Daryl saved his sons life. It was Daryl's heart... holy shit.

"Dad, you there?" Carl's voice questioned through the phone, bringing Rick back to real world as he blinked back his tears.

"Yeah. I'm here." Was all he managed to say.

"So, did you know him?"

"Yes. I knew, Daryl." Rick answered causing Shane's head to snap around to him and Rick could see the confusion on the mans face out the corner of his eye before he quickly focused back on the road.

"Great, so I'm at moms house for the first week of Spring Break, but the next week when I'm at yours... maybe you can tell me a bit about him?" Carl suggested and Rick couldn't stop the smile forming on his face as a silent tear fell down his cheek.

"I would love that." He answered.

"Cool. I gotta go. I'm meeting this girl, Enid, for lunch. She's in my English class. I'm totally loving college. Alright, I love you, dad. Bye." Carl said and Rick didn't even have a chance to say goodbye back before Carl hung up.

He slowly lowered the phone from his ear and stared out the front windscreen trying to process what his son had just told him. Daryl had saved his sons life.

"Everything alright?" Shane asked, a hint of worry etched into his tone. Rick quickly wiped the tear from his cheek and looked over at him to find Shane already looking at him worriedly.

"It was Daryl." Rick stated causing Shane to stare at him in confusion before he focused back on the road as Rick continued.

"It was his heart. Carl's heart donor was Daryl." He explained and Shane didn't say anything for a seconds as he took in what Rick had just said.

"Holy shit." He exclaimed, quickly pulling the car over on the side of the road as he turned to face Rick properly to find the man was smiling happily despite the tears in his eyes.

"Daryl saved my sons life..." Rick trailed off unable to finish his sentence as a few more tears fell down his cheek. Carl was alive because of Daryl. Daryl's heart was inside Carl, it was Daryl's heart.

"You still okay for this trip? We can call Officer Chambler and tell her we can't make it." Shane suggested, but Rick shook his head.

"I'm fine. Let's keep driving. It'll be good to go there and mom has already organised to have dinner with us. If we pull out now, it'd be the end of the world. Like full on apocalypse, end of the world and we don't want that." Rick responded with a soft chuckle and Shane nodded in agreement.

"That's true, we can't say no to your mother." He agreed and with that the two of them continued driving down the highway, getting ready for the long drive back to their hometown to help Tara with the school talk.

The two of them were going to stay at Dale's house, that Rick now owned because he never had the heart to sell it. He hasn't even been back there since he was with Daryl.

The sun was starting to set by the time they got to the house and Shane dropped him off, so Rick could get the house ready while Shane went down the street to get food and drinks for the weekend.

Nothing had really changed at all in the past year as Rick walked up towards the house to the front door and unlocked it.

The house was still exactly the same, although Rick wasn't sure why it may have been different. It wasn't like anyone had been there during the past year. Even the washed dishes were still sitting in the dish rack on the sink causing Rick to chuckle softly because of course neither him or Daryl could be bothered washing the dishes that day and decided to let them drip dry.

He made his way through the house, making sure the spare bedroom still had the bed made. Although, he'd probably warn Shane to maybe change the sheets because who knows how many bugs would've crawled under there during the past 12 months, but that was an issue for later.

Rick walked back out into the main room as he pulled across the curtain to the back door and opened it. He stepped out on the back veranda and his eyes widened when he realised that the garden had been done up.

There were a few weeds here and there, but the garden bed was just full of luscious tulips and Rick immediately knew that Daryl had done this before he left.

He quickly made his way back inside to grab a pair of gardening gloves so he could pull out the few weeds in the garden when his eyes landed on a letter sitting on the kitchen table causing him to frown in confusion. That wasn't there last time he was here, he was sure of it.

He walked across the room to the table as he picked up the letter and he froze recognising the handwriting on the front that said _'Rick__'__. _

He could recognise that scribble from anywhere. It was Daryl's.

With shaky hands, Rick picked up the envelope and made his way outside as he sat down on the porch steps. He stared down at the letter in his hands through teary eyes as he took a shaky breath. Daryl had written him a letter before he died, it had been sitting here for over a year and he didn't even know. 

Shaking his head in disbelief, Rick looked up at the sky as the sun disappeared across the horizon. One lone star had already appeared, standing out and shining brightly amongst the pink clouds painting the sky and Rick smiled softly remembering all those times him and Daryl had sat on that wooden log in the edge of the woods, looking over the town and watching the sunset and stars in the sky. 

He glanced back over at the at the vibrant flowers in the garden bed for a few seconds before he focused back on the envelop in his hands and forced himself opened it.

_'Dear Rick, _

_When I was young, I looked for a shape to things. A reason or a design. So much of what happened to me, though, felt like an accident. So, I guess I lost my faith in all that. _

_When I survived my fall, I began to wonder... if there wasn't some purpose to my life. Maybe I was on a destined path, even if I couldn't see it yet. _

_When I saw you again, I believe we'd been given a second chance. That the universe had decided to give us that. You have commitments, I understand, and you want to keep them. I can only love you more for that. _

_I hope to see you again someday, but if I don't... just know that these last days have been the best of my life. I love who I am when I'm with you, Rick. You are my dearest friend, my deepest love. You are the very best of me. _

_Forever, Daryl.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are reading this and have stuck with this fic until the end, I just want to say thank you. Thank you so much for all your support throughout this fic. I would love to hear your thoughts about this fic below, so please leave a comment if you have time. 
> 
> I really enjoyed writing this fic and I cried too many times to count throughout the whole thing, especially these last few chapters. I know some of you hated the ending to the last chapter (which I totally understand, I hated myself too) but I hope this final chapter helped. I know it's kinda a bittersweet ending, but this was always how I wanted this fic to end and I hope you guys liked it. 
> 
> I plan to write more Rickyl fics in the future, but at the moment I'm focusing on my Daryl Dixon x Reader fic. Anyway, until next time stay safe everyone and have a great day xx


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